Startide
by Regiss
Summary: Though darkness no longer plagues the worlds, the full ramifications of the conflict at Scala ad Caelum have yet to be seen. A tide of starlight, a danger that only those whose existences straddle the line between light and dark can face. To save the worlds from slumber, Roxas and Xion are on their own.
1. The Weeks Since

Rain fell on an empty world.

Water ran off black streets, pooling at curbs and falling into storm drains. Neon signs flickered behind the curtains of rain, putting on a facade of life amongst the dark buildings. But it was only a facade, with nobody around to witness it. No people scrambled for shelter from the weather, and no animals scavenged for food in the alleys. Though lights were on in the windows of the many black skyscrapers, no one could be seen inside. This world was abandoned. It had been abandoned for some time now, but even before then it had always been empty. That was why it was called the World That Never Was.

But abandoned though it was, there was one soul who made his way through the dark city. Near the center of the world, a figure navigated the maze of alleys and streets until he emerged in the square near Memory's Skyscraper. With his hood up, his heavy black coat kept the rain off of him entirely. Even though he had not been here in quite some time, he still knew the twists and turns by heart. He had no fond memories of Never Was, but it was necessary to return here now. This half-formed world would be his ark.

The figure spared a glance up at the flickering images on the landmark's screens - images of a girl, distorted by static - and then continued his way through the city. Through the ruins.

What had once been a metropolis as spotless as it was lifeless was now devastated; at least, the interior regions were. Following a final showdown between the forces of light and the forces of nothingness, the white castle that had previously hung in the black sky over the city had toppled. Entire skyscrapers had been uprooted from their foundation and come crashing down again. Concrete rubble was strewn across the streets, varying in size from as small as a pebble to as large as a building. The closer you got to the center of the world, to the vast pit above which the castle had once floated, the worse the devastation became.

The hooded figure stopped at ground zero, the Brink of Despair. The Castle That Never Was sat lopsided in the center of the pit. Or at least its lower half did. Its upper half, having been cut clean off near the climax of that encounter, had come crashing down onto part of the city and now rested across the pit, on the far cliff face from where the figure stood, the buildings around it having been toppled or flattened by the crash.

The constant sound of rain pelting the streets, and his shoulders and head, had begun to slow down. As he overlooked the ruins of the castle, the man in the black coat held out a hand palm-up and caught some of the raindrops on his leather glove. When the last drop had fallen, the man raised both hands up and lowered his hood. Would he have liked to shed himself of the black coat completely? Yes. But there was a hole in his heart, something missing, and the protection the coat offered was needed until that hole was filled.

Turning his gaze from the castle to the night sky, the man watched as the last of the rain clouds disappeared. There was no heart-shaped moon to greet him, but he had neither expected that nor wished to see it. Even despite the light pollution from the buildings surrounding him, he had a perfect view of the thousands of lights twinkling high up above. The stars were exceptionally beautiful tonight.

The man placed a hand over his aching chest and clutched tight at his coat. He spoke in a steady voice with his gaze locked on the heavens above.

"May my heart be my guiding key."

**Startide****  
****Chapter 1: The Weeks Since**

In another world, one not far from the World That Never Was, night had not quite fallen just yet. Out here, it was like the sky was on fire. Shades of orange and yellow coated the sky and clouds, mixing with a faint purplish hue on the horizon. A girl took in a deep breath, her black hair blowing in the wind. No matter how many times she saw this sight, no matter where she saw it, Xion never grew tired of watching the sunset.

A voice beside her spoke up. "Don't lose your grip, Xion."

Xion snickered and turned to the boy beside her, his face silhouetted against the sun. Her best friend for as long as she could remember. "You either. This is a little more important than holding onto an ice cream stick, Roxas."

"I haven't dropped an ice cream in ages!"

Amidst laughter, the two who had only recently been restored from a state of nonexistence held tightly onto their lifelines while watching the sun vanish beneath the horizon. With one last flash of light, the warm hues in the sky were replaced with a deep, dark blue as the stars came out to greet them. It was different, but it was no less beautiful in its own way. Staring up at the stars, seeing the many worlds that she and Roxas had been to, and that all their friends old and new had been to? It was something Xion had never just slowed down to look at before… And it was almost enough to make her forget the anxiousness that came with sundown, the growing pit in her gut. The night sky was beautiful, but with night also came-

"It's getting kind of chilly," Roxas said beside her. Thankful for the distraction, Xion shook her head and pushed that anxiety aside for now. "You ready to head on down?"

Xion rubbed her bare arm for a moment and then gripped the handlebars tightly. "Yeah. Come on, everyone else is waiting."

With a nod, Roxas and Xion turned around and started heading back the way they had come. It felt strange and more than a little scary to soar through the air with only some metal beneath their bodies keeping them from falling out of the sky, but according to their teacher it was more than safe as long as they held on tight. The Keyblade Glider, Master Aqua called it.

Xion had not known until very recently just how much Keyblades, those magical weapons of the heart that had defined her short life, could really do. She leaned forward on her transformed blade and accelerated as she and Roxas returned to the mountaintop garden where they had spent the last several weeks practicing under three wielders of the Keyblade far more skilled than she could have imagined: the Land of Departure. As they curved around the white and gold castle, Xion watched with wariness and curiosity. She still could hardly believe that it had once been Castle Oblivion, the world that had once haunted her nightmares for the better part of a year. Some day she would have to ask about the full story behind that.

"Xion! Roxas!"

The voice of one of their three teachers called up to them. Master Aqua was waving at them from the cliff, as behind her the others were already gathered. Wait, hold on. Xion squinted as she examined everyone down in the gardens. Not everyone was there yet-

A little cat creature that had been watching the sky sighed and shook its head. "Oh boy."

An instant later, Master Aqua's voice rose up again. "Lea, look out!"

A blur of red shot between Xion and Roxas, sending both of them hurtling through the sky and nearly tossing them off of their Gliders. As Xion struggled to regain her composure she heard Roxas call out in confusion a few yards away, "Axel?!"

The newest Keyblade wielder of them all came rushing out of the night sky like a meteor, his shouts of terror echoing over the Land of Departure. He jumped off of his Keyblade Glider at the last second, and as it crashed into the side of the mountain Lea's body was sent flying until he crashed and tumbled on the soft earth, then came to a stop at the base of a man dressed in black.

"Having trouble again?" Isa asked with an entertained smirk decorating his face.

Lea spit out grass and grinned up at his friend. "You're just jealous you can't join us up there."

"Yes, absolutely. I'm jealous that I'm not risking my neck while failing to fly." Isa helped Lea up to his feet just in time for Roxas and Xion to leap off their Gliders and hurry over to the redhead. The vehicles vanished in flashes of light as soon as their owners left them behind.

"Are you alright, Axel?!" Xion asked, grabbing Lea's wrist and examining his arm with concern. He could have broken a bone doing that!

"Easy, Xion. I'm fine. I've dealt with a lot worse, you know that." He flexed one arm and grabbed his bicep. "I'll get the hang of this thing no problem! It's just, you know, gonna take some time. A little pain never hurt anyone right?" Though as he said this, he lowered his arms and pressed his hands into his back with a grimace.

"It's just because you're still new to the Keyblade is all, Lea." Though that was Roxas's voice, he wasn't the one who had said it. Ventus walked up to the group with a disarming smile, but the cat in his arms shook its head.

"I'm not so sure that's the reason," Chirithy said with a gesture upwards. In the sky, two more Keyblade Gliders skillfully moved back and forth, up and down. Riku and Kairi. Xion felt a pang tug at her heart at the sight; not for the sight of those two in and of itself, but for what it stood as a reminder of.

The two of them had stuck together like glue these last few weeks, ever since…well, everyone had taken to just calling it '_back then_.' After Xehanort's defeat, Sora had gone off to save Kairi with the power of waking despite the King's protests and Xehanort's younger self's warnings. He had come back with her seemingly safe and sound, but soon after, and right in front of everyone, Sora had…

Since _back then_, Riku and Kairi had been inseparable. During this period of training in the Land of Departure, they had fought together, ate together, everything. There was absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that the second things were finished here those two would go off and find Sora. Some of the others expected Donald and Goofy to join in, too. Whatever the makeup of their party, Xion wished them the best.

"Those two probably do have the best hang of it out of all of you." Another voice spoke up as they watched Riku and Kairi start to descend. His voice not only snapped Xion back to reality, it also made her stiffen up. While the warm and comforting tone was a sharp contrast, the voice itself brought back memories of darker times. Terra walked up to her and Roxas and smiled. "But they're not the only ones doing well. Roxas, I think your control is really impressive in particular."

Roxas practically jumped out of his skin at the praise. He stood up straight and bowed his head while fumbling over his own words. "Uh, t-thank you, Supe- sir!"

Roxas had stopped himself, but Terra had caught that slip nonetheless. He hesitated, then rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I… No problem, Roxas. Then I guess I'll, um, go speak to Riku." With that obvious change of the subject, he hastily turned and went to greet Riku and Kairi as they landed.

Once Terra had turned around Roxas visibly relaxed. His shoulders drooped and he let out a breath. Xion grabbed his hand, entangling his fingers with hers to bring him out of his memories. They didn't need to share words, they'd spoken about this before. Working with Terra was…hard.

"The situation is clearly as difficult for him as it is us," Isa commented dryly.

Despite his stupor, Roxas nodded. "I can't really blame him. I don't know what I'd do if I were in his shoes."

Like the story behind Castle Oblivion, or why it was that Ven and Roxas looked alike, Terra's story was something Xion didn't have the full picture of. But she knew enough, both from Lea's summaries and from the way others had spoken, to piece together his connection to Xemnas. She could see it in his face, even if his expression was different; hear it in his voice, even if his tone was different.

From the sound of things Terra had memories of his time under Xehanort's control, too. They were about as hazy and distant as Xion's own memories of Sora's life, but they were still there. And there was probably more than his fair share of regret for everything that Xehanort had done with his body weighing him down, too. To say that things were awkward between Terra and the former members of Organization XIII was an understatement.

"Lea! Xion, Roxas!" Ven called over to the three of them, standing with Terra, Riku, Kairi, and Master Aqua. "Come on! We have one more thing we're gonna test you guys at before we're done tonight."

Roxas looked to Xion beside him, then over his shoulder to Lea. He grinned. "A test? And here I thought we were just playing around on the Gliders all evening."

Lea chuckled. "Well if they were testing us on that, I'd say I failed with flying colors. Alright Ven, we're coming!"

Master Aqua spoke up as the Keyblade wielders all gathered around. "You've made great progress these last few weeks with the Keyblade Gliders, but their true strength comes partnered with something else. Flying around in one world's sky isn't all they're used for."

"Is this about those gates, Master Aqua?" Kairi asked.

Aqua let out a soft breath and smiled. "Kairi, please, like I keep saying you can all just call me Aqua." Kairi's face flushed red for a moment and she twirled some hair between her fingers before Aqua continued. "But you're right. They're called the Lanes Between: special passageways that Keyblade wielders have long used to travel between worlds."

"Don't they have the Gummi Ship for that?" Isa asked. He stood behind the assembled Keyblade wielders, but was still keeping up with the conversation.

Chirithy, still held tightly by Ven, spoke up in Aqua's place. "Both have their upsides. The Gummi Ship allows for a lot of people to travel together, and for non-wielders to travel between worlds too. But you have to find a place to dock it, and have to return to it to leave the world. With the Lanes Between you can leave whenever and wherever, and all you need is your Keyblade."

"So what's the catch?" Riku asked. "These Lanes sound pretty handy to me, but I've never seen Mickey use them before and I can't imagine he didn't know about them."

Chirithy continued. "If anything, the Lanes Between are closer to the corridors of darkness. Darkness plagues the world between worlds, and if you don't have a way to hold it off then it will worm its way inside your heart. That's what the Keyblade Armor is for."

"Or the black coats," Xion mused. Questioning glances came her way from Terra, Aqua, and Ven, so she continued. "Besides just being the Organization's uniform, it also kept the darkness of the corridors away from us while we wore it."

Ven smiled. "And here I thought it was just a fashion statement."

Beside Xion, Roxas shook his head. "I've had enough of that sort of fashion for a lifetime. I don't think I'm going to put that coat on any time soon."

Aqua brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "Well unless you have some other alternative you may have to if you plan to ever use the Lanes Between. Master Eraqus was the one who made armor for Terra, Ven, and I, and we don't know how to do it ourselves."

"Don't worry about that." Riku tugged on his jacket. "The clothes Kairi, Mickey, and I got from the good fairies from Enchanted Dominion protect us from the darkness like black coats. Oh, Lea's too. Roxas, Xion, I'm sure you guys could ask Master Yen Sid for some like them."

The good fairies, huh? Yet another story Xion had heard fragments of but didn't know the details to. Quite a lot had happened in the short time she was, well, away. Xion smiled and put her hands behind her back. "We'll have to stop by. Thanks for the suggestion, Riku!" Though as soon as she said those last words, she knew they were a mistake.

Without needing to look at him Xion quickly grabbed Roxas's hand, trying once again to get him to calm down. She felt him lessen up somewhat, but from Riku's own shift in expression she could guess what look Roxas was giving him. Unlike so many other things, the story between Riku and Roxas was one Xion _did_ know. She'd been filled in on everything that had happened involving those two after she and Roxas fought in Twilight Town, from their first encounter in Never Was up to their last one in Ansem's datascape.

Things had been…_rocky_ between Riku and Roxas since they had all arrived in the Land of Departure, and Xion and Kairi had done their best to keep them away from each other's throats; metaphorically, of course. It had never come to actual blows. Roxas was the antagonizer ninety nine percent of the time, even though he knew – and Xion_ knew _that he knew, because they had spoken about it in private before – that everything Riku had done had been to save Sora. His own best friend.

"_I know that, but still,"_ Roxas had said during one of those conversations. _"I know he wanted to save Sora, just like I had wanted to save you. But still, he helped to take away everything important to me. And I don't want to lose anything or anyone ever again."_

Xion could also tell that Roxas was especially concerned about her interacting with Riku. She wasn't happy about that; on the one hand his care for her was appreciated, but seriously, Xion could take care of herself and Riku wasn't someone he needed to be concerned about in the first place. Still – she spared a glance over her shoulder at Isa – the past was something Xion knew full well was hard to get over emotionally, no matter what you logically knew to be true in your mind.

"Roxas, come on." Xion tugged on his hand, and he finally relented.

"Hey, Riku." Or had he? Xion's heart fell. Had he just lied to her–? "You know you still owe me that 5000 munny from last summer." Roxas crossed his arms and grinned a toothy grin.

Riku snorted a laugh. "Right, yeah. Don't worry, I'll pay you back."

"If you don't, then I guess I can just break your other wrist as payment."

Riku's eyes briefly widened in worry as he mentally relived the first time that happened, and then the awkward laughter that comes after a stressful moment began rise up from the group and fill the night air around the Land of Departure. Well, not everyone's laughter was that awkward. A genuine giggle came up away from the group, and heads turned to the bench where Naminé sat with her sketchbook on her lap and a pencil in her hand.

"Naminé, come on. Laughing at me?" Riku feigned hurt.

"Sorry! It's just…" Naminé smiled and turned her sketchbook over, showing everyone a perfect rendition of Riku's shocked expression forever immortalized on paper.

"Naminé?!" Riku gasped out, and this time everyone started to laugh for real. Him included.

Once the laughter slowly died down, Lea cleared his throat. After nobody paid him any mind he did it again, louder and more forcefully. Finally heads turned his way and he placed his hands on his hips. "This warning is all well and good, but we already went over it when we came here. So what's this test, you guys?"

"Oh, right." Terra cleared his throat then stood up straight. The teacher look didn't really suit him, though. "One last thing before you all graduate from the Land of Departure. We've spoken about the Lanes Between, but now it's time to try it out. You all ready?"

Xion looked to Roxas beside her, then Lea behind her. The trio nodded and summoned their Keyblades. Riku and Kairi did the same, then Ven set Chirithy down and he, Terra, and Aqua lastly all called on theirs. Ven jumped up onto a rock and pointed his Keyblade forward. "Look deep inside your heart. Let it guide your way forward. And then, like this!"

A beam of light shot forth from Wayward Wind, and at the point on the ground where it hit an oval-shaped gate emerged. It was reminiscent of the dark corridors that Xion and her friends were used to, but composed of lighter colors as opposed to the black and purple of darkness.

Two more beams shot out of Ends of the Earth and Stormfall as Terra and Aqua opened entrances into the Lanes alongside Ven's. Aqua turned to the others. "Once all of you try it out, we can spend one more night resting in the castle before you all head home."

And with those words and no further distractions, the anxiety about tonight that had been gnawing at Xion earlier returned all at once, hitting her like a freight train.

'Rest'… Right.

* * *

_Hello, and thank you for checking out Startide! This is a fic that I've been brainstorming since finishing KH3, and I'm excited to finally get started on it._

_If you're familiar with my previous fics—Remember the Tides, The Tides Go Out, and On the Way to a Smile—let me say plainly that Startide has nothing to do with them. There may be some familiar concepts reused here and there (which you might be able to tell just from the title!), but the stories are completely separate. Think of this as a spiritual successor to the Tides series, not a sequel. But I hope you'll enjoy reading it just the same!_


	2. Traumas

**Chapter 2: Traumas**

She had nothing. No memories, no heart, no name. Just a number: thirteen.

The thirteenth dark vessel.

The sun beat down overhead, making her uncomfortably hot in her heavy black coat. There was a breeze but it offered no solace from the heat; it was dry and warm, carrying nothing but dust and sand with it. In fact it was nothing but dust and sand for miles around. Beneath her hood she carefully glanced left and right, but could see nothing except for the badlands that stretched on and on into the horizon. Behind the dust blowing in the wind, the air above the wastes seemed to ripple from the heat. This world was dead. It made her feel like she was the only person in all of existence.

She stood there, unmoving, in the middle of the badlands for so long that she lost track of time. But this didn't bother her, for she had no heart to be bothered with. Only an empty puppet, created to serve as the final piece of a puzzle that would fall into place and fulfill a plan decades in the making. But as she stood there, as the sun began to fall and the sky shifted from blue to orange, something shifted inside of her. Recognition. Standing here, in the center of thirteen stone pillars, caused a sense of familiarity. But it was stomped out by the nothingness within her, gone from her thoughts as suddenly as it had come.

"Today is a momentous day."

A voice rang out over the emptiness, the first sound besides the blowing wind that she had heard in what felt like years. It was an old voice, heavy from the weight of a long life and many experiences, but still only a candle to the bonfire that was the badlands' age. She glanced up in the direction of the speaker, and suddenly found herself surrounded. Figures in black stood atop twelve of the thirteen pillars, having made no sound to announce their arrival. Rather, it was as though they had always been there even though she knew that not to be the case.

The one who had spoken stood on the tallest pillar, directly in front of her. The only one without the black coat. She craned her neck to make eye contact with him. With his hands resting behind his back, he looked down at her with a smile and one raised eyebrow. She had never laid eyes on this man before, but she knew who and what he was. This wicked man's heart beat steadily inside her hollow chest.

"Let us all welcome one of the Keyblade's chosen."

Some welcome. There was no applause, not even words from the others. But she hadn't expected any. She didn't deserve any. Slowly she turned in a circle, looking up at the cold gazes of the twelve. The man with the long blond hair, the only one among them whom she had seen before this moment, had a grin on his face that somehow exceeded the old man's, but like the rest he said nothing. Her gaze lingered on a man with blue hair whose expression was the most unreadable of all. Once more she thought she sensed something familiar, and once more it was quickly stomped out.

That was where her existence in that empty world truly began. The others were not always as quiet as that first meeting, but she always was. The others had memories, they had hearts. Things she lacked. But she was not supposed to have them in the first place. She was the thirteenth vessel and nothing more, created specifically for the quickly approaching promised day. When the man with pink hair and woman with blonde hair laughed as they made her run errands, she felt nothing. When the blue-haired man or the man with one eye watched her with unreadable expressions, she felt nothing. When the gambler and the musician invited her to play a game of cards with them, she felt nothing.

She had nothing to feel with in the first place, after all.

Sometimes the others would disappear for days at a time, assigned to one world or another for the old man's schemes. But for her, the earliest she could remember leaving the wastes was different. The old man's right hand, an imposing figure with an even more imposing voice, had taken her through the darkness to a forest with a spring of crystal clear water. She stood still and silent, staring at the surface, until the man – in a completely emotionless tone – ordered her to bathe and wash her clothing. She glanced down at her black coat, stained brown by dirt and dust, and complied. In the water she saw her reflection for the first time. Short silver hair and empty golden eyes stared back at her as she robotically went through the motions.

But empty though she was, her body needed rest. And when she slept on the hard earth of the badlands, she would have dreams. Dreams of a blond boy.

In the badlands, somewhere amongst the rugged mountains, the two of them stood across from each other. He stumbled, his weapon disappearing in a flash of light. Hers soon did the same. He leaned forward with one hand on his knee, the other holding his face. Between his fingers eyes as clear and blue as the water of that spring stared back at her.

Something inside her stirred. A duty compelled her forward.

She approached the boy slowly. "I'm so glad you finally remembered." Her voice didn't match the words; she spoke as stoically as the man who had brought her to that other world.

She gently reached up and removed the boy's hand from his face, cradling it in her own, their fingers intertwining. Her other hand brushed against his cheek. Her thumb wiped away dirt that had found its way there during their battle. Had they had a battle?

"I…"

The boy's voice trailed off as she moved closer to him, pressed her body against his. The compulsion inside her grew stronger as she met his gaze, her golden eyes locking with his deep blue ones. She saw her reflection in the waters once again. The boy stuttered, but made no other action. He was frozen in place, exactly as she wanted.

Exactly as the darkness commanding her very being wanted.

She brushed his cheek again, stood up on the tips of her toes…and pressed her lips against his. The boy gasped and tried to pull back, but a squeeze of his hand stopped him. He pushed against him further and smiled as his eyes – once as wide as saucers – now became distant as his eyelids drooped. She slowly guided his hand to her chest, then his other to her back. Only then did she break the kiss. Still pressed up against him, she gently moved her other hand off his face and brushed her fingers against his shoulders before pulling back to help him with the zipper of her coat.

"We'll have to make sure that you don't forget me ever again."

The black coat fell to the bleak earth. His arms wrapped around her, pulled her closer, and she pressed her lips against his once again. The darkness within her compelled her further, and she grinned as the boy's half-open eyes began to change hue.

**x-x-x**

Xion eyes snapped open in a cold sweat. Where was she? Darkness was all around her, closing in– She stopped. Breathed. Her bedroom, Twilight Town. The lights were just off, that was all. Xion slowly pushed herself up. The sheets fell to the side, and she reached for the lamp on her bedside dresser. When the soft glow lit up this little corner of the room, she picked up a small mirror and nervously peered inside it. A sigh of relief followed soon after; blue, not gold. Xion fell back onto her pillow with the mirror clutched against her chest.

_Those dreams again_.

Nightmares of her time in the second Organization XIII, of her time as nothing but a puppet for Xehanort's machinations, had been plaguing Xion ever since she had been recompleted. She'd lost track of how many times she had woken up in the middle of the night like this. What's worse, that…_interaction_…with Roxas hadn't been something spurred on by her subconscious. Of course not, why couldn't it be something as simple as normal teenager problems? Not that she even liked Roxas that way. But no – that scenario, and others like it, were recurring dreams she had had while under Xehanort's control. Clearly he had been trying to convince her to drag her friends down into darkness as well.

A knock on her bedroom door. Xion jumped, and the mirror clattered to the floor. The door creaked open a crack. "Xion? I heard you crying out in your sleep, is everything okay?"

Xion breathed out. It was just Roxas. It was a wonder this was only the first time he'd heard her, considering how she had these nightmares so often. She must have been crying especially loudly this time. Xion forced the memory of that last dream into the back of her mind and spoke up. "I am, yeah. Just a nightmare."

Despite her assurance, Roxas didn't leave; if anything, he looked more concerned now than before. He stepped inside her room and closed the door behind him. "If it was just a nightmare I don't think you'd look so stressed out. Do you want to talk?"

Xion couldn't help but smile. She couldn't get anything past him, could she? Roxas had definitely become more aware since they were recompleted. Xion brushed some hair out of her eyes. "…Sure. It might do some good to get things off my chest for once, actually."

Roxas snickered, which Xion returned awkwardly as she once again pushed herself up into a sitting position. Oh, the mirror. She picked it up off the floor and set it back down on the bedside table, then turned to Roxas who had sat down at the foot of her bed. "So what are these nightmares about?"

Xion pulled her legs up to her chest. "The Keyblade Graveyard," she admitted softly.

Roxas's face fell. He recovered quickly, but Xion definitely noticed that brief shift in expression. The entire incident that they, that no one really, had spoken of much in the weeks since it happened. She had no doubt it was on everyone else's mind as much as hers, though. "In what way?"

Xion took a deep breath. "Of the days before the final battle. When I was…" she reached for a word to use. "…Norted." It was a term Demyx had come up with, the last time she saw him in Radiant Garden.

"Xion…" Roxas reached forward and placed his hand over hers. "I know those were dark times, but they're over now."

"I know. But it's really hard to– Roxas, listen. I know we have a lot in common, but that's something you never experienced before. Being a puppet, I mean."

"I haven't, no. But if you want to tell me, maybe I can try to understand."

Xion took in a deep breath. For all that these thoughts had been bothering her since she was recompleted, talking about it wasn't something she had done yet. She had learned in her first life that keeping her problems bottled up inside was absolutely not something to do, though. She spoke at the same time as her exhale. "Okay."

Vexen had used the Replica Program to create vessels for the members of the second Organization XIII whose hearts had time traveled from the past. Xemnas, Ansem, Xehanort's younger self they were all time-displaced hearts in replica bodies. Roxas knew this just as well as Xion did. Roxas himself was inhabiting a replica vessel too, put together with the help of Ienzo and Ansem the Wise.

"But for me it was different," Xion said softly. "Because my heart was inside Sora. When Vexen made a new body for me based off his old research, he didn't have my heart to put inside it. I wasn't like the dark Riku replica; I wasn't even like the way I used to be in the old Organization. I was just _empty_; no memories, no name. The only thing inside me was a fragment of Xehanort's heart."

"So like how Terra was?" Roxas asked.

"No... Closer to the way I was when you and I first met. I didn't have a sense of self. I just did what I was told to do, moving like a machine." Xion hugged her knees tighter. "And that's what the nightmares are about. Every night I dream that I'm not in control of my body. I can feel Xehanort's darkness running through my veins. When I wake up, sometimes my limbs are numb and I'm scared that they won't move again. Other times I have to run into the bathroom to throw up." By now she had buried her face in her crossed arms and was choking on her words. "I just… I– I–"

Something warm embraced her suddenly. Xion's tear-stained face shot up to find Roxas hugging her. "Xion, it's okay." He pulled her tighter. "They're just dreams, Xion. They can't hurt you. You're here, you're safe with me. And Axel, and Isa too."

"Roxas…" Xion sobbed and returned the hug even tighter, her hands grabbing at his shirt. "Thank you. Yes, you _are_ here. It was you who called me back." She pulled away and smiled. Though tears still moved down her cheeks, it wasn't because of fear. "In the Keyblade Graveyard, when I saw Axel – that was when I felt something. Something real, for the first time." She hadn't know who he was, what it was she was feeling, or why she had felt it. But she _had_ felt it. She had felt it the entire time they fought. It ate away at her as Lea had knelt in the dirt with her Keyblade pointed at him. She hadn't been able to hold her weapon steady as her body fought the compulsion within her.

The first time her body had ever moved of her own free will was when she had grabbed at Xemnas's weapons. It had hurt; it had hurt so much, burned so much. As she sniffled, Xion looked down at her palms and slowly furled and unfurled her fingers. But the pain had been worth it. Even if she hadn't know why at the time, the pain had been worth it to protect him.

"And when I heard your voice call my name. When I was recognized…_remembered_. That's when I wasn't empty anymore." Her gaze locked with Roxas's, and she looked at her black hair reflected in his deep blue eyes. She remembered, too, when her hair and eyes had returned to normal; when Xehanort had been expelled from her. Xemnas knocking her aside, colliding her with Sora, had been the final catalyst needed for her heart to return to her. That physical contact combined with her reclaimed memories had caused a warmth to enter her, to bring her back to who she used to be.

"Roxas, you say Axel and I guided you back to us. You did the same to me. So thank you." Now she initiated the hug. She buried her face in his shoulder and held him so tight, never wanting to let go. "Thank you for always keeping me safe, Roxas."

"You're welcome, Xion. And thank you for bringing me home, too." He leaned his head against hers. "I never want to lose anybody ever again. I promise, I'll make sure all of us are never torn apart from each other. Not even for a minute."

They sat there together in the dimly-lit room for a good while longer. Neither noticed the smiling redhead peeking through the cracked door before silently shutting it to leave them be.

**x-x-x**

When Roxas had returned to Twilight Town some time ago, the last thing he had ever expected to see was a new restaurant in the Tram Common. He had been even more surprised to find out that Donald's uncle was the owner. Unfortunately despite Lea's best efforts to convince Mister McDuck otherwise, there was no friends and family discount, though. Still, Le Grand Bistrot had quickly become one of Roxas's favorite hangouts. The usual spot didn't really have room for everyone now that his group of friends had grown so much.

Hayner slammed his phone down on the table and groaned loudly while Pence and Olette laughed at him. The game over screen of a Classic Kingdom game blinked back at them. Amidst their good-natured jeering Hayner grabbed his phone and pressed at the screen as he booted the game up a second time – only to lose all his lives again in almost as quickly as the last time.

"Nice going, Hayner!" Pence cackled with his hand on his belly.

Olette put her hand on Hayner's shoulder but was having trouble hiding her giggles behind her other hand. "Third time's the charm?"

"Yeah right, the game's busted." In a huff, Hayner all but tossed his phone over his shoulder. He stewed in his own anger for a moment before glancing over to Roxas. "What are you looking at?"

Roxas leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. "A sore loser."

"Oh really?" Hayner put a hand on the table and leaned forward. "I didn't know my face was a mirror."

More laughter between the four friends. Roxas found himself remember sunny days and lazy afternoons in another life. Here and now, back together with Hayner, Pence, and Olette after everything that had happened, it was like he had never left. And he was absolutely ecstatic that his two groups of friends had been able to blend so seamlessly. Speaking of which…

The doors to the kitchen opened up and Lea walked out in a completely out of character black uniform, a tray of treats held in one hand. Roxas let out a snort; he couldn't help it, Lea just looked so goofy dressed up as a waiter.

Lea caught the laugh and flicked Roxas in the forehead. "Hey, watch it. Bills don't pay themselves, kid." He set the tray down and held a hand out proudly. "You'll see I've got your usual orders memorized. Crêpes Suzette for Hayner, chocolate mousse for Pence and Roxas–"

"Your accent is horrible, Axel," Roxas said as he grabbed his plate.

"Just for that you're on laundry duty tonight," Lea shot back without missing a beat. "Last but not least, two fresh fruit compotes for Olette and– Oh. No Xion today?"

Olette took her fruit dessert from Lea while he looked over at the empty seat where Xion usually sat. She took a bite of strawberry and let out a sound of sugary delight before answering Lea's question. "Xion's off shopping with Isa today."

"Isa, huh…?" With the unclaimed compote resting on the table, Lea spun the empty tray on his fingertip. He turned to Roxas, who stopped mid-bite and looked up at his friend with his spoon in his mouth. "Are you cool with that? I appreciate the effort Roxas, but the two of you don't have to try so hard if it's uncomfortable."

Roxas stared down at the mousse for a contemplative moment. The others all noticed the atmosphere shift and looked between him and Lea. Their knowledge of everything was flimsy at best, but Roxas figured they must have at least caught on to how he and Xion would sometimes stiffen up around Isa.

"…I won't lie and say it's easy," he said at last. Saïx had put both of them through hell in the old days, Xion especially. When Isa had been recompleted after the Keyblade Graveyard, Roxas had punched him right in the face. That had been _extremely_ cathartic. But he and Xion also knew Isa's story, and why he had been the way he was. "You know we don't forgive him, at least not yet. But we understand what he went through. So."

"So?"

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm uncomfortable around Isa," he admitted. "And I'm uncomfortable that Xion is around him, too. But we also know he's your friend, and we know he wants a second chance. So Xion's trying to give him that second chance, and who am I to stop her? They're both taking steps to reach each other."

For a moment Roxas swore Lea was going to cry. He turned away from the group and took a deep breath through his nostrils. "I gotta… go handle the other customers. Bon appétit, guys." His voice shook a little, and as he walked away Roxas couldn't help but smile. He was still a big softy, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

After some silence, Pence spoke up through a bite of mousse. "Hey Roxas! I betcha you can't beat Hayner's high score!"

Hayner spit out his crepe. "Hey, shouldn't I be the one making that bet?!"

But Roxas had already pulled out his Gummiphone. "You're on!"

"Hey, I never agreed to– Whatever, it's not like you'll be able to anyway!"

Roxas wiggled his eyebrows as he booted up Classic Kingdom. "Just watch."

The brief awkward pause in their conversation was gone, and once again Roxas was swept up in memories of happier times. It was like he was back in summer all over again, just wasting time killing his teeth with sugary treats as he hung out with these three, whether it be arguing with Seifer and his gang or just sitting around in the usual spot.

Hayner let out a loud groan as Roxas beat the level in record time. He reached angrily for Roxas's Gummiphone, and Roxas had to hold it up while Olette and Pence held Hayner back. Even then the four never stopped laughing. Finally Hayner relented and fell back in his seat with a huff.

"Fine, alright, you win! Guess I'll just have to find something else to kick your butt in."

Roxas pocketed his Gummiphone then pulled out his wallet as Lea came by with the bill. "Between this and Struggle, you may be running out of options."

"Struggle?" Hayner dropped the munny for his own share of the bill onto the table then quirked an eyebrow at Roxas. "When did we have a Struggle match?"

"You don't remember? It was last summe–" Roxas caught himself. "…oh. Right."

"Was that in the other Twilight Town?" Olette asked softly.

Roxas nodded and put his munny on the table with the others'. "Yeah. Right before summer vacation ended." How was the other Twilight Town doing? How were his…other friends, doing? Things had been pretty surreal on that final day, and Roxas wasn't sure what had or hadn't actually happened then. Did they remember him? Did they wonder where he'd gone? He hadn't been to the old mansion since he'd been recompleted, much less to Ansem's computer room. He didn't think he'd be able to handle it – a living memorial to one of the things that had been taken from him.

Roxas pushed his chair out and stood up. "If Axel comes by again, tell him I'll see him at home tonight. I'm going out for a walk."

Hayner, Pence, and Olette all shared looks with each other. "Sure, man," Pence said. "Whatever you need."

With a nod and wave goodbye, Roxas made his way out of Le Grand Bistrot and up the streets of Twilight Town. Despite his earlier words to Lea, he found his mind wandering to Xion and Isa. What were they up to, and was she okay alone with him? He didn't want to budge in where he wasn't needed, but he just couldn't help but worry. Not over Isa specifically, but just about…everything. Everything felt so fleeting.

Roxas reached for the Gummiphone in his pocket. He came to a stop and stared at the black screen. There was a feeling in his gut that everything would just slip through his fingers and disappear. There was no logical basis for it, he knew. But he was so scared of it all the same. Scared of being alone.

Roxas dialed a number and started walking again as the Gummiphone rang. Hayner had said once that what mattered was keeping your friends in your thoughts, even if you couldn't see each other anymore. But Roxas couldn't accept that. Having everything taken from a second time? That was the most terrifying thought in the world.

The ringing stopped, the girl on the other end picked up. "Roxas?"

"Hey, Xion. What are you up to?"

"Not much. I'm still with Isa. Why, what's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to talk."

As Roxas moved through the familiar streets with his eyes on the Gummiphone, he didn't notice the white figures wriggling their way across the orange sky and toward the forest.


	3. Normalcy

**Chapter 3: Normalcy**

Mornings could be rough on Roxas. He didn't have nightmares, not often at least, but sometimes he'd wake up thinking he'd been captured in a datascape again and momentarily panic, not used to seeing a bedroom beyond the Organization's sterile white ones. Other times, if he were the first to wake up and the apartment was quiet, he would get worried that everyone had suddenly disappeared and force his way inside Xion or Lea's rooms to make sure they were still there. But there were also days where he would wake up like a normal kid on a normal mornings, groggy but otherwise fine, and today happened to be one of those days.

Roxas never was and probably never would be a morning person. Even after he forced himself out of bed, showered, and made his way into their apartment's small kitchen, he was still yawning and rubbing his eyes. As he turned the corner out of the hall, Roxas saw that two of his roommates were already awake. Isa was reading the newspaper, while Lea was devouring some reheated leftovers. When he saw Isa Roxas had to push down his first instinct, that first morning thought of _"I should pick up today's mission." _Old habits die hard.

Lea looked up from his food and smiled. "Heya, Roxas." Isa didn't say anything, but he did give an awkward nod to the kid.

"Morning, Axel. Isa." As they went back to their business, Roxas turned to find some breakfast of his own. Pancakes sounded good. But as he started getting everything out and heating the griddle, he felt eyes boring into the back of his head. With a jug of buttermilk in one hand and a pan in the other, Roxas turned around to see Isa watching him from the table. Uhh? "Have you um, eaten, Isa?"

"Yes. Thank you though. I was just thinking." Isa smiled slightly then turned to Lea, who was all but licking his plate clean. "Lea, wasn't there something you and Roxas spoke about the other day? You asked me to remind you this morning."

"Hm?" With his fork in his mouth, Lea looked from Isa to Roxas then back to Isa. "Oh! Right! Roxas, you're still helping out at the bistro today, right?"

Roxas nodded as he continued to work on his breakfast. "Yeah. I've got it memorized, Axel. Ignis said he'll be running late today, so you need someone to help Little Chef in the kitchen. Don't worry, I'll be there."

"Good, because Mr. McD will take it out on me if you're not." Lea picked up his plate and moved over to the dishwasher. "And who better to help Little Chef than our own little chef, huh?"

Roxas groaned as Lea ruffled his hair, but it was all in good fun. Cooking was actually something he had picked up since they settled down in Twilight Town, that much was true. He enjoyed doing it, and he was capable even if not the best at it. It kept him occupied when he didn't have anything going on in town, anyway. The last thing Roxas wanted was a repeat of his boring, wasted first vacation from back when they were still in the Organization.

Shuffling feet turned heads as Xion came down the hall, still in her pajamas and with her hair a mess. Lea hid his laughter behind his mouth, but Roxas watched her with concern as she sleepily greeted them and then got a glass of water. Had Xion had another nightmare last night? Roxas hadn't heard her crying out or anything, but she sure didn't look like she had gotten any sleep.

"Isa and Axel have already eaten, but do pancakes sound good to you?" Roxas asked.

Xion leaned her back against the counter as she cradled the glass in both hands. Her eyelids were drooping. "Uh-huh. Thanks."

A frown tugged at Roxas's lips. If the nightmare she'd had the other night was a recurring one, they'd need to find a way to fix that. For now though, he turned back to his cooking while he let Xion wake up.

Meanwhile, Lea had returned to the table. As he plopped down in his seat, he looked between Isa and Xion. "Any plans today for the two of you?"

Isa folded his newspaper and set it aside. "Well, I have the day off today–"

Lea grunted. "Don't remind me."

Despite being interrupted, Isa couldn't hide his smile at Lea's expense. "–so I'll probably clean up around here. Maybe I'll stop by the Tram Common to pick up some things Xion and I didn't get to yesterday."

Lea chuckled. "Where would we be without the team mom?"

Isa's response was absolutely deadpan. "Up to your necks in dirty clothes, I'm sure."

"Axel and I maybe, but Xion would keep us on our toes," Roxas said from his spot at the griddle. He glanced back over his shoulder to see that Xion had sat down next to Lea, and she still looked kind of out of it. "Hey Xion, you have class today, don't you?"

Roxas's question seemed to make something inside Xion click, and for that first time this morning she seemed actually awake. "Yeah, actually! And I'm really looking forward to it, too! I wanted to show the instructor some moves I've been working on."

As Xion continued to talk, Lea glanced at Roxas and Roxas grinned back at him. If there was one way to cheer her up, it was mentioning the dance lessons she'd been taking. She had picked them up only a few days after they moved into the apartment, and Roxas couldn't remember the last time he'd seen something capture her interest so deeply.

"…and I did mess it up once with Olette, but…"

He wasn't ignoring her as she kept going, but he did have food cooking. Roxas moved the pancakes off the griddle and onto a large plate, then grabbed syrup and carried it over the table. Xion paused from her story as he approached. "Roxas, it looks delicious!"

"Seriously, I already had breakfast and my mouth is still watering," Lea said mournfully with his hands over his stomach.

Isa calmly picked up his own plate of long-finished food and stood up to clean it. "You don't have any time, your shift starts soon."

"What?! Come on Isa, it'll only take a sec!" Isa ignored him, and so Lea turned to the kids. "Roxas!"

Roxas and Xion glanced at each other, nodded, and then Roxas smirked as Xion giggled. "You heard him, Lea. Better get ready for work."

"Some friends you are!"

**x-x-x**

"Och aye, it's good to have yer help, lad."

There were two things Roxas wasn't used to when speaking with others: being taller than the other person, and – despite everything that had happened – talking to anthropomorphic animals. It just so happened that when he spoke with Scrooge McDuck, he experienced both. Donald's uncle was always smiling, but he also always had this air about him, something that told Roxas _"if you make me waste even one munny you're out of here." _Luckily Roxas had a wonderful guide to help him out in the kitchen today.

Little Chef came running along on the floor. It was a sight that would have made customers panic at any other restaurant, but at Le Grand Bistro a rat in the kitchen was an everyday occurrence. He hopped up into Roxas's open palm and gave his index finger a high-five. "Hey, Little Chef! I know I'm not as good a chef as Ignis, but I hope you'll work with me today all the same."

Little Chef gave a thumbs-up in response, and Scrooge cleared his throat. "Well I certainly hope so. I dunnae think we'll be too busy today, but all the same that doesn't mean ye should slack off. I expect ye to work as if this were your real job, my boy! If nothin' else, it'll be valuable experience for the future."

Roxas shrugged while Little Chef scampered up his arm onto the top of his head. "I'm used to high expectations for me. Don't worry about it, Mr. McDuck."

Lea laughed as he picked up his notepad. "Don't you worry about it, Mr. McD. I'll make sure Roxas makes the grade."

"If anything, I'd say Little Chef will be the one makin' sure of that."

Roxas tilted his head. "What do you mean by– _Ow_!" Little Chef tugged sharply on his hair, and Roxas's arms lifted up. Hey, he hadn't meant to lift them! "Wha–?!" Another painful tug, and against his will Roxas's legs lifted up. He began awkwardly walking over to the fridge amidst Lea's uproar of a laugh. "Um, Mr. McDuck?"

Even Scrooge was chuckling a little, though it was largely drowned out by Lea. "Now why would ye think he's called Little Chef if he weren't our chef? Ignis is who the lad's got the most affinity with, but anyone will do." He paused for a moment in thought and brought a hand to his chin. "Ye look about as awkward with it as Sora, though. I hope ye don't break as many eggs as that boy did."

Little Chef twisted his hair and Roxas's body spun around on one foot. "I can crack an egg just fine. If I'm not being controlled, anyway!"

Lea's laughter had died down by this point, at least a little. There was still a hint of in his voice as he spoke. "Come on, Roxas. You can't make an omelet without–"

"Finish that sentence and every broken egg will come out of your paycheck, mister!" Scrooge snapped. "Now get out there and work, the customers are startin' to come in!"

Lea gave a salute to Scrooge and a wave to Roxas, then headed out of the kitchen. Scrooge stopped at the doors and looked back. "Little Chef, I leave the boy in your care."

Little Chef didn't even wait for the door to close before he tugged painfully on Roxas once more and moved him over to a cabinet. "Alright, uh, what's our first one then?"

Sweet relief; at Roxas's question, Little Chef let go of his hair and jumped down onto the counter. He grabbed a cookbook and pushed it open, not without some effort, then excitedly pointed at the name of the dish he'd opened to. Roxas, on the other hand, was eyeing the rest of the page. Oh boy, the instructions were all in French. With a sigh, Roxas then looked up at the name.

"Ratatouille? Little Chef, I can't read the… Alright then." Little Chef had already started running up Roxas's arm again before he could even finish his sentence. Roxas sighed dejectedly as another painful tug on his hair caused his hand to reach for a knife. Thanks a lot Lea, this was going to be a long, painful day. When the heck was Ignis supposed to show up?

**x-x-x**

It was a couple hours past noon as Xion made her way through the streets of Twilight Town with a bag of workout clothes over her shoulder and sweat matting her hair to her face. Today's dance class had been fun, but like always it was quite the workout. Though that had actually been the initial reason she'd first tried the classes; without Organization missions or enemies to fight, she had wanted some way to stay active. Something else it helped with, which she hadn't exactly told the others, was that it kept her mind off of her recurring nightmares. And the good news was, on top of all of that she'd found that she just plain enjoyed dancing! And the new moves she'd wanted to try had gone well, too. She'd messed it up while practicing with Olette the other day, but pulled it off great today.

Xion rounded a corner onto Market Street, where she caught sight of a familiar little figure at one of the stalls that lined the street. Clad in blue and with a pointy yellow hat, the little kid strained to see over the counter of a candy shop.

"Vivi!"

The little boy stumbled back in shock as Xion called his name from behind, but luckily he caught himself before he toppled over onto the ground. Adjusting his cap, Vivi turned around and looked up at her with his "Oh! Hi, Xion."

"What are you up to today?" Xion set her bag down, then crouched down with her hands on her knees as she spoke to Vivi at eye level. He was a sweet kid, if a bit unaware at times. They'd first met when Xion had moved into town and found him playing alone in the sandlot. The group he'd hung out with had left town on a "warrior's journey" some weeks before then, apparently, and Vivi wasn't invited. The two had become fast friends, and sometimes Roxas would join in too though he'd privately admitted to Xion once that after some incident in the virtual Twilight Town Vivi kind of gave him the creeps. Xion didn't feel that way at all, though. Sure he looked a bit odd compared to everyone else, but he was just a sweet little kid underneath that oversized hat of his.

"I'm just trying to get some ice cream, but the shopkeeper isn't…" Vivi trailed off and looked up at the empty stall. Xion's gaze followed his. Yeah, there was no sign of anyone. "Grandpa Quan game me the munny for it too, but I guess I'll have to come back later."

"That's a real shame, huh? I don't know the last time I saw the candy shop unmanned." Xion stood up and shrugged. "I guess there's not much to do right now besides that, though." That really did suck though, she could go for some ice cream too.

"Sorry! Sooorrrrryy!"

A high-pitched voice made Xion and Vivi's heads turn. A Moogle was barreling through the shoppers of Market Street without any regard for them, and he was headed straight for the candy shop! Xion ducked down just as the Moogle zoomed overhead and flew into the stall. He stopped on a dime before crashing into the merchandise, then collapsed onto the counter, panting.

"Um…"

"Heeeyy! Wait for me!" Coming up behind the Moogle – and unlike the Moogle apologizing to everyone he bumped into – was Pence. When he reached the candy shop he leaned against the wall as he stopped to catch his breath. "I can't…fly…you know…"

"Sorry about that, kupo." The Moogle crawled up to his feet, fluffed his pom-pom with his hands, and then looked between Xion and Vivi. "What can I get you?"

"Um…" Xion repeated for the second time. She looked to Pence for an explanation.

Pence smiled apologetically. "I'm helping him out at the shop today. We just had to deliver a cake to a kid's birthday party though, sorry we left the shop unmanned. We were gone longer than expected." He paused then leaned to the side to look behind Xion. "Oh. Hey there, Vivi."

Vivi adjusted his hat. "H-Hello, Pence."

"Hello, kupo! What can I get you? Wait…" The Moogle leaned forward with…well, Xion wanted to call at an investigative stare, but with Moogle eyes always looking closed she couldn't tell. "Xion! It's good to see you again! I'm so glad everything worked out."

"Um, thanks?" Xion raised an eyebrow. The only shopkeepers she knew were Scrooge's nephews and the old woman who ran the ice cream shop she, Lea, and Roxas frequented. But that wasn't this shop. "And you are, um…?" He looked sort of familiar, but Moogles could be hard to tell apart.

"My name is of no importance, kupo."

"Oh!" Xion's hand flew to her mouth, and she grinned. "I didn't know you'd come to Twilight Town. Yeah, it is good to see you again."

"You know each other?" Vivi and Pence asked at the same time.

"Xion and Roxas are favorite customers of mine."

Her grin not fading, Xion rested her hands on her hips. "Does that mean we get a friends discount?"

"Nope, kupo!"

Xion lowered her head in defeat. Fair enough. "Well, okay then. Two ice creams. I'll have sea-salt, and Vivi…"

"Mint, please." Vivi reached into his pocket and pulled out his allowance, but Xion had already beaten him.

"Don't worry about it Vivi, I can pay for both of us."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure! I don't see why not." She handed over the munny, the Moogle handed over the ice creams, and Xion gave Vivi his green bar while taking a bite out of her blue. "Consider it a gift, okay?"

Even with his features hidden by the shadow of the brim of his hat, Xion could still see Vivi's eyes light up. "Thank you, Xion!" He took it the ice cream with glee and a bit of a spring in his step. "I should go see Grandpa now. Bye bye!"

"Bye, Vivi!" Xion waved after him, and when he almost tripped over his own two feet she added, "And be safe on your way back!"

But behind her, Pence spoke up with a questioning tone. "He's a good kid, but you ever feel something is off about him?"

Xion paused mid-bite. "…Not that I've seen, no. Why? Roxas said Vivi kind of creeps him out, but he also said that's because of an incident with Nobodies in the other Twilight Town. It's not like that's the real Vivi's fault."

Though Vivi was long gone, Pence still kept his eyes on the road where the little boy had run. "Yeah… I guess if you didn't know his story, you wouldn't think he was anything but a shy kid."

"His story?"

"As much as there is one, I guess. I don't even pretend to know everything." Pence shrugged. "It was maybe a little over a year before you guys all moved in? There was one night where the whole town was just covered in mist, thick like soup. Vivi showed up out of nowhere then, and no one knew where he'd come from so old man Quan took him in. And on top of that it took a while for him to start talking, let alone start emoting. Hayner always tried to avoid him because of that; still does, kind of."

Xion's ice cream was all but forgotten now. She too stared down the road where Vivi had run. That certainly _did_ sound weird. And a little bit familiar too, especially the part where he took a while to develop emotions. Was Vivi a Nobody? No, he couldn't be. But then what was his story? He certainly didn't seem bothered by it, he was always cheerful even if shy…

"Hey Xion, your ice cream's melting."

"Oh!" Well that snapped her out of her thoughts. Xion licked the salty sweetness up before it got all over her hand, then picked up her bag. "Anyway, sorry Pence, I've got to run. Roxas and I are supposed to spar in the sandlot when he's done at the bistro."

"Sure. Keep up those key-sword skills of yours, alright?"

"Key_blade_!" Xion said with a laugh. As she ran off she turned back to the Moogle. "It was good seeing you!"

The Moogle waved a stubby little hand. "You too, kupo! And Pence, stop lollygagging and get back to work!"

**x-x-x**

By the time the sun was starting to set, Roxas groaned and rubbed his scalp. He could still feel Little Chef tugging at him, and he wouldn't be surprised if some hair had gotten torn out with all that work today. Pretty much the moment Ignis had arrived Roxas had taken off. Still, he felt he did a pretty good job overall! Little Chef certainly seemed to like working with him. Though he didn't know how Scrooge felt, and after the pretty dramatic way he had screwed up the chocolate mousse, maaaybe it was better if he didn't see the old duck for a while.

"Hey! You ready?"

Across the sandlot, Xion stood proud with her hands on her hips and her feet planted firmly in the sand. Roxas shook his head and laughed. "I'm surprised you're so eager to do this after just having your dance classes today."

"Nothing wrong with a bit more exercise. Ready or not, here I come!" In a flash of light her Kingdom Key was in her hands and she was dashing toward him. Roxas cried out in shock and summoned Oathkeeper to block moments before she would have slammed the Keyblade upside his head.

"Give me some more warning!" With Oathkeeper fighting back against Kingdom Key, Roxas held his other hand out to his side. In one fluid motion Oblivion formed in a flash of black light and then swung at Xion, but Xion spun from the front of Roxas to his side to avoid it. Then she dropped to the ground, propped herself up with one hand, and swung her legs out from beneath her to trip Roxas up.

He was too blindsided to avoid it. Did she just _breakdance_ in the middle of a fight?

While Roxas fell back into the sand, Xion was already back on her feet. Embers crackled to life at the tip of her Keyblade. She always was better at magic than him. When the Fire spell came flying his way, Roxas jumped up to his feet – and _vanished_. His body dissipated into particles of light that the fireball passed harmlessly through. The particles flew as one behind Xion, and an instant later the particles coalesced to form Roxas once again. From the air he brought Oathkeeper and Oblivion down as one, forming an X-shaped eruption of blue and gold flames on the ground where they slashed.

As the embers from the attack faded away Roxas held his two Keyblades in front of him with their hilts against each other. Xion may have been better at magic than he was, but he wasn't helpless at it. The two Keyblades spun in front of Roxas and from them came two spiraling bullets of blue and gold magic. Xion braced herself and knocked the one from Oblivion aside where it dissipated harmlessly, but Oathkeeper's slammed into her chest and sent her skidding back.

Roxas dropped to the ground and darted at Xion with his Keyblades held out to his sides. Both swung up at Xion to her right, but she swiftly brought her Kingdom Key up to block. So Roxas quickly pinned her Keyblade down with Oathkeeper and lifted Oblivion to swing at her shoulder. Xion in turn let go of her trapped Keyblade and dropped to the ground once more, this time raising her legs and kicking Roxas's swinging hand aside.

Roxas winced and shook his hand. The heel of her boot had collided with his wrist. "Did you seriously take those dance classes just to show off in a fight?"

Xion giggled and summoned her Keyblade back into her grip. "No, but they certainly help!"

She launched a handful of Blizzard spells forward, the ice chards racing through the air. Roxas splintered one, two, three with his Keyblades as he ran toward Xion, but he missed the fourth. It struck his right foot and froze him there on the spot. But with only one foot locked in place, Roxas's left side flew forward awkwardly. Xion avoided the slowed swing, more of a trip really, and darted toward Roxas with her Keyblade ready.

But it had been a feint. Once more Roxas vanished into the light, freeing him from Xion's ice. The light darted some yards away before reforming into Roxas's body, his Keyblades crossed in front of him. This time he struck Xion before she could block, then as she flinched he jumped away before she could retaliate. Once more: in, rapid strikes, out. Xion cast a Fire spell, but Roxas moved aside to avoid it. She sent another forward, and he dodged that one too. If there was one thing he was good at in a fight, it was never holding still.

Xion threw up Reflect to block another spiraling blue and gold blast; a wall of interlinking hexagons was all that Roxas's spell collided against. And this time when he charged in Xion met him head on. She brought her Keyblade up and blocked Oathkeeper, then down and blocked Oblivion, then – Roxas struck with Oblivion a second time, when Xion had expected Oathkeeper. Roxas watched as her Keyblade flew through the air and landed in the sand some distance away.

"Looks like I win–"

_WHAM!_

Roxas felt something large and hard slam into him, and the next thing he knew he was lying next to Xion's Keyblade while seeing stars.

"Sorry! Are you okay?!" Xion cried. Letting out a low groan, Roxas looked up to see Xion running toward him with a massive blue claymore in her hands. Isa's weapon disappeared in a flash of light and she dropped to her knees beside Roxas while casting Cure.

"Just...dazed," Roxas admitted as he felt the healing magic work through his system. "I should have seen that coming. My fault for taking my eyes off the fight."

Xion sighed in relief. "Yeah, I guess so. I should have warned you it was coming, though."

Roxas sat up and crossed his legs. Xion moved from kneeling to sitting beside him, too. He shook his head. "Nah. I knew you could do that, so like I said: I should have seen it coming. Being able to copy weapons is handy, isn't it?"

"I guess so." Xion shrugged and stared down at her palm. Roxas watched a familiar look of focus and thoughtfulness cross her features, and then in an instant a bat wing-shaped sword appeared in her grasp. It disappeared soon after in a cloud of darkness, which was quickly replaced by a flash of light as she settled on the Kingdom Key. "I prefer my Keyblade overall, though. It's just what I'm used to."

Roxas nodded. "I can't say I blame you for that."

Xion's ability to copy weapons and powers was… Well, it was something that Roxas had known about for a while, obviously, given everything that had happened in Organization XIII. But it wasn't until this second life of theirs that both of them truly came to realize how in-depth it could go. Any weapon that Xion held onto for a decent length of time – like how she had borrowed Roxas's Keyblade for several missions back in the Organization – was a weapon she could replicate and use herself. She had wielded Isa's claymore against Sora, Lea, and Kairi while she was still one of Xehanort's vessels, and she had copied some others during that time too. But the Keyblade was hers.

Roxas stood up, then held out a hand to help Xion to her feet. "What do you say we head home? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Xion dismissed her Keyblade and nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. And when Axel gets off work we can go to the clock tow–"

"H-HELP!"

A panicked scream came from the direction of the Tram Common, and both of them turned to it as one. Even if their weapons had just vanished, they already were in their hands again. A man neither Roxas nor Xion recognized ran into the sandlot in a wide-eyed panic, and continued running past the two of them while crying out for help to anyone who'd listen. "Monsters! At the mansion! Those white creatures are in town again!"

Roxas felt a chill run down his spine. "Nobodies?!"

Ahead of him, Xion was already moving toward the entrance to the woods. "Roxas, hurry!"

* * *

_Scrooge's accent always has and probably always will give me trouble._

_Thanks for reading! I can't gush enough about how much I loved that Xion was using the claymore and berserk mode in KH3. It opens up so much potential for her fight scenes. Power copying characters are so much fun to work with. As for Roxas's light dodge, that really is something he had in 3 too. Xion incorporating dancing into her fighting, well yeah, that's new. I wanted to differentiate her style from Sora's. What do you think?_


	4. Scene of the Crime

**Chapter 4: Scene of the Crime**

The door to the underground waterway flung open as Roxas and Xion emerged into the woods outside of Twilight Town. Xion groaned and scraped her boots against the grass to clean them off. It may have been nice to not have a giant hole ruining the town's outer wall anymore, but there needed to be a better way into the woods. There was no time to dwell on that though, not with Nobodies in the area.

"Xion, hurry!" Roxas called from up ahead of her.

Twigs and dead leaves crunched beneath Roxas and Xion's feet as they ran through the forest, but those were the only sounds they heard. There was an unnatural quiet amidst the trees. Normally you could hear birds singing or squirrels chittering away, but there was nothing of the sort. The Nobodies must have scared them off. But why now of all times? The Organization was gone – both Organizations. In fact, the only humanoid Nobodies left at all were the two of them, Naminé, and Demyx. But Demyx wasn't smart enough to tie his own shoes, so who was commanding the lesser Nobodies?

Between breaths as they ran, Roxas spoke in answer to her unvoiced question. "Could it be Xehanort?"

Xion almost tripped over in surprise at his question. "_What_?"

"Demyx still has a piece of Xehanort inside of him. Xehanort's other selves can time travel to any period where a version of him exists. Could Demyx be the way for someone like Xemnas to come to the present?"

_There_ was a terrifying thought. Xion felt a chill run up her spine. But… "No, I don't think so. Well, he could, but he wouldn't have a replica vessel this time. He'd just be a heart without a body."

There was a pause before Roxas nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But who then?"

"I don't know, and that's what scares me." Xion jumped over a fallen log and landed without breaking her stride. "Maybe it's just some random group of Dusks that put together a plan on their own."

"You really think so?" There was an almost laughing tone in Roxas's voice.

"Not really, no," Xion admitted. "But we can hope, right?"

With no other words between them, they climbed the hill and the mansion came into view. That old and empty manor where so much had happened for the two of them, still as abandoned as it had been ever since Ansem the Wise left it. It always gave Xion a sort of uncomfortable feeling, and she knew Roxas didn't like to come by it. As they entered the courtyard, Roxas turned to look up at the window to Naminé's room.

But aside from a general feeling of unease, there was nothing off about the mansion. The courtyard was empty of any sign of trespassers, and the front doors were shut tight. "False alarm?" Xion wondered.

Roxas shook his head. "I doubt it, that guy was pretty freaked out."

"Then maybe we're too late? I'd expect to see Dusks–"

As if in response to Xion, the front doors slammed open and numerous wriggling white forms flew out of the mansion's foyer. Immediately Xion and Roxas dropped into their battle stances with their Keyblades ready, unwilling to let the Nobodies pass. The shapeless white forms came to a halt and then spun around in circles, forming into a multitude of Dusks. The swaying, undulating figures stood at the far end of the courtyard from Xion and Roxas, eyeing them carefully. It was a standoff.

**We are not here to harm you, my lieges. **One of the Dusk's emotionless voices echoed in Xion's head, and she could only guess Roxas heard it too.

"What are you doing here?" Roxas demanded of the group.

**A mission of restoration.** Xion couldn't tell if that was the same Dusk or a different one. They all sounded the same; all lesser Nobodies did.

"Restoration?" Roxas and Xion glanced at each other, but then tightened their grips on their Keyblades and looked back to the Dusks. "Sorry, but when Nobodies are involved it's bad news. We can't let you pass!"

There was nothing said in reply. Instead, the Dusk at the front of the group wriggled its body and turned its head upward. The others soon followed, and the zippers keeping their mouths shut tight unzipped all at once. Fine then. If they wanted a fight, they'd get one.

Roxas made the first move. He darted forward like a bolt of lightning and was upon the Nobodies in an instant. The Dusks scattered, some weaving through the air and others squirming along the ground, but Roxas spun like a top with both Keyblades held out to strike as many as possible. But some had gotten clear of the area beforehand and avoided his attack entirely, and they couldn't have that. Xion swept her hand in a wide arc from left to right in front of her, conjuring a series of fireballs. With a thrust of her Keyblade, they flames flew forward and struck the flying Dusks. They writhed as their nonexistent bodies caught fire.

Roxas jumped up and grabbed one of the airborne Dusks with Oblivion's teeth, then spun and tossed the Nobody into one of its comrades down below. The two Dusks collided and their bodies quivered, then they quickly recovered and charged at Roxas together. They jabbed and kicked at Roxas with their whiplike limbs, knocking him into one of the stone pillars in the courtyard.

Xion ducked out of the way of her own Dusk assailant and darted around it, confusing it momentarily as it whipped its head back and forth looking for her. A jab forward and her Keyblade pierced the Dusk's chest; soon after, it faded away into darkness. Xion winced as the wisps of black and grey lifted into the sky. She had never killed a Nobody before… But she shook her head, trying to clear the guilt away. This was good, it meant they would be recompleted. It was still hard to deal with though.

Another Dusk struck at Xion from behind, making her stumble forward. She quickly whirled around to slice at the Dusk, but it stretched out of the way and attacked again from her side. Roxas's Keyblades flew past Xion and pierced through the attacking Dusk as well as one other, causing the two Nobodies to fade away. The Keyblades were swiftly followed by a bolt of light that quickly materialized into Roxas, who grabbed his Keyblades in midair and cross-slashed at a third Dusk.

Roxas stood back to back with Xion. "Why are so many here?"

"Who knows? But at this point we can say for sure that they're being directed by someone." A random Nobody attack wouldn't have these numbers.

Roxas darted forward again, and Xion raised up her Keyblade to cast Thunder. As bolts of lightning rained down on the courtyard she ran in the opposite direction from Roxas and swung her leg out, knocking two Dusks into each other before throwing her Keyblade at them and piercing both. The Keyblade quickly flashed into her hands again and she swung at a third Dusk that came at her.

The Dusk squirmed and lashed out at her, but the way it did so was off somehow. It lunged just one stretchy arm at her, which Xion easily dodged. She swung at it and it contorted to avoid the blow, then jabbed with that same arm again. Its other hand was clutched tightly to its chest, like it was broken or something. Could Dusks even get broken limbs? Did they have any bones to break in the first place? This was just odd. Xion kept focusing her attacks on that Dusk and it kept avoiding her blows then striking halfheartedly with the same arm over and over. Was it holding something? If so, it was something too small for Xion to make out. The Dusk stretched tall and then pulled its lower body up to greet the rest of it, pulling it up into the sky.

"Come back here!" Xion cast Fire a few times at the Nobody, but it avoided each fireball. "Roxas, this one is up to something!"

"I got it!" Roxas tossed one of his Keyblades at the Dusk and then transformed into light. His Keyblade pierced into the wall of the mansion next to the Nobody and Roxas materialized a moment later, hanging onto the Keyblade and hanging in the air. He pointed his other weapon at the Dusk and sent a burst of light its way, which once again the Dusk avoided. Now the Nobody spiraled around in the air a few times and started flying off over the trees away from town.

Roxas released his grip and dropped to the ground, then called his Keyblade back and struck at a different Dusk. He looked up at the retreating figure in the sky. "What's up with that one?"

"Hey, come back here!" Xion held her hand out and pictured herself gripping a cross-shaped handle. As her fingers curled around the imaginary grip, thorny black and white wisps swirled around her arm and toward her hand. They coalesced together and formed into one of Lea's chakrams, which she then tossed skyward. The spinning, spiked disc flew toward the Nobody and almost made contact, but at the last instant the Nobody vanished. Xion let out a frustrated groan and waved her hand, dismissing the replication. It faded away like the Nobody had.

"Xion!" Roxas called her attention back to their surroundings, where the other Nobodies had begun to disappear just like their companion. Roxas sent spiraling bolts of gold and purple light out from Oathkeeper and Oblivion, but his targets faded away before he could hit them. Xion hurriedly tossed her Keyblade at the last remaining Dusk, and it made contact – then the Dusk faded away and the Keyblade fell to the ground and vanished in a flash of light.

The Nobodies were all gone, as if they had never been there in the first place. Roxas dismissed his Keyblades and looked around at the empty courtyard, where the only signs of the battle that had just occurred were his and Xion's footsteps in the grass. "That…was weird. What was with that fleeing one, was it scared or something?"

Xion frowned and shook her head. She stared up at the sky where the fleeing Dusk had been. "I think it had something, it was clutching its hand to its chest."

"Huh? Wait, you mean…" Roxas peered through the open doors into the dimly-lit interior of the mansion. "You think they stole something from the old mansion?"

"Maybe? If they did it was something small, I couldn't see whatever that Dusk had."

"What would they even want, though?" When Xion shrugged helplessly in response to Roxas's question, Roxas let out a breath and looked into the woods. "Let's go talk to Axel. If nothing else we should tell him what happened."

"Right." And with a nod, the two ran back toward town.

**x-x-x**

There was another forest, another world, far from Twilight Town – a forest shrouded in the soft blue light of the early morning. He had always liked this time of day, when the sun had only just barely risen and the dew was still on the grass and flowers. Daybreak brought with it a sense of nostalgia, a longing for times gone by. Granted, he wasn't entirely sure why that was.

Something he was sure of, however, was that the wheels had begun to turn. Was he marching in time with destiny, or was he moving to his own tune? He didn't know, but he certainly hoped it was the latter. No matter how little he truly knew, he didn't feel like cooperating with destiny. That much was etched into his heart.

In the middle of this forest at early dawn, he held out his hand and unfurled his closed fist. With a spark of magic older than him, older perhaps than the ground that he stood upon, a shimmering and translucent χ symbol appeared over his open palm – a trick taught to him by an old man not so long ago. Peering into the χ, an image of two who still bore the Recusant's Sigil in their names slowly materialized. Roxas and Xion ran through the streets of Twilight Town in a hurry. They had attempted to interfere with his plans, but the Dusk with the flash drive got away safely. Still, they would definitely catch wind of what was going on sooner or later. It was best to keep an eye on them.

The man made a small gesture and the image within the χ shifted, showing another bearer of the Sigil. He slept unsoundly while sitting in a chair, snoring loudly next to one of his former companions in Organization XIII. This one never was one for combat, but he was also the only person besides the children who could potentially interfere with the plan. He'd need to be taken care of.

"Are you done yet?" The man's companion spoke up behind him. He looked over to her, sitting on a large rock with her chin resting in her hands and her elbows on her knees. "I'm pretty bored."

The man waved his hand through the air and the glowing χ disappeared. He turned to his companion with a wry grin. "Come now, don't insult it. This world is my home. What do you think?"

"It's pretty, but not much else to it. Hey, same as you!" She cackled at her own (poor, in his opinion) joke. "Why are we here? Shouldn't we meet up with the Dusks?"

"We will soon, but I had to make a stop here to speak with some old friends." With a nod of his head, he motioned into the woods. "They know much about sleep. They will definitely be able to help us fill in any blanks the data might have."

His companion slid off the rock and hurried to catch up to him. "Will they help us after everything we've done?"

"What you should be asking is, do they even know what we've done? We'll ask a few harmless questions and then be on our way."

He heard her scoff behind him. "Harmless, right."

He smiled and shook his head. Her attitude hadn't changed a bit. "What they don't know won't hurt them."

Speaking of things that hadn't changed a bit… After a short walk through the morning woods, they came across a clearing with a sparkling river flowing through it. Beside the river, just as he remembered it, was a small cottage. Gesturing for his companion to wait at the tree line, he approached the humble abode and lightly knocked on the front door. Soon after there were sounds of surprise and some clattering coming from inside; no doubt they hadn't been expecting visitors. But a moment later the door creaked open and a little old lady in green poked her head out.

"Yes? Oh my!" She gasped and broke into a wide grin at the sight of her visitor.

He returned the expression and gave a small bow. "It's been a long time. May I come in?"

"Goodness, yes it has! Come in, come in; I'll go get the others! And I'll prepare tea and cake, too!"

He laughed. And it was a genuine laugh, not a facade. It was so good to see her again. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't be here too long, I have some errands to attend to. But I was hoping you three could help me with something first."

"Anything, dear! What would you like?" She turned inside for a moment and called over her sisters. After going through essentially the same greeting two more times, he apologetically looked over his shoulder at his scowling companion while the three kind old women practically pulled him inside their cottage.

"How can we be of help?" It was so good to see these three, in this house, and for a moment he felt like a boy again. If he closed his eyes he could almost imagine himself here in those peaceful days. Everything was as it always had been, right down to the detail. But…_he_ had changed.

What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"It's very important. What do you know about the Sleeping Worlds?"

**x-x-x**

"Nobodies?! Guys, you shoulda told me!"

Lea paced back and forth in Le Grand Bistrot's small break room while Xion and Roxas sat at the table. His shift wasn't over, but when Roxas and Xion had barged through the restaurant's front door, panting and with frantic expressions, he had quickly decided to take his break. In fact Scrooge had insisted, lest Roxas and Xion's demands to see Lea upset the customers.

"Sorry, but we were in a hurry!" Roxas said. "We were worried they'd make their way into town or something."

"I…guess that's fair," Lea admitted with some hesitation. He stopped pacing and looked at the two kids with concern. "So what was it? Just a couple Dusks skulking about?"

"Try a dozen or so, and they probably stole something too."

Lea raised an eyebrow. "Explain, kiddo."

Roxas looked over to Xion, who opened her mouth to speak when a ringing sound cut her off. Xion and Lea looked at Roxas, who stared down at himself in confusion and patted his clothes as he tried to figure out where the ringing was coming from. He stood up from his chair and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his Gummiphone. After a wordless glance at his two friends, Roxas pressed the green button to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Roxas, hello!" A familiar face popped up on the screen as Xion and Lea peered over Roxas's shoulders to join in on the call. And what an unusual call it was: from a far-off world, Ansem the Wise's youngest apprentice Ienzo greeted the trio. "And Lea and Xion are with you as well, that's excellent."

"Ienzo, this is, uh…a surprise," Roxas said. "You don't call very often."

"What's the occasion?" Lea asked. "Sorry, but we're kind of in the middle of something so–"

Ienzo hastily cut Lea off. "As am I. In fact, it's something of an emergency." The three friends glanced at each other and then back to the young researcher. "Has anything strange happened in Twilight Town recently? Have you seen anyone you didn't recognize, or someone acting suspiciously? Specifically at or around the old mansion."

Roxas almost dropped his phone. He and Xion looked at each other with wide eyes, and then Ienzo let out a worried chuckle.

"I guess I can see just from your expressions."

Xion leaned in more. "There were a bunch of Dusks at the mansion about an hour ago, maybe. But how did you know?"

"Dusks? Now that's especially worrisome…" The scene on the screen shifted as Ienzo set his own Gummiphone down, revealing that he stood in the computer room within Radiant Garden's castle. The phone must have been sitting on some stand now, since they watched Ienzo start to type. "It was about an hour ago, give or take, when the MCP first noticed that something was wrong in the DTD, too."

"Uh, and those are…?" Roxas asked.

Instead of Ienzo, a new face popped up on the screen to answer. "'Master Control Program' and 'Door to Darkness'. Respectively, they're the AI in charge of the Bastion's computer network and the dataspace where all of Ansem's and the apprentices' research data is stored."

Roxas, Xion, and Lea stared dumbfounded at the newcomer. He had pale grey skin and was dressed in blue glowing armor, and all three of them had seen neither him nor anyone even remotely like him in their lives. "Uh…"

The strange man chuckled. "Sorry, I suppose we haven't been introduced. My name is Tron; I am the MCP. I contacted Ienzo when I became aware that our security had been compromised."

"Someone hacked into the Bastion's computer?" Xion asked.

Now Tron vanished from the Gummiphone screen and Ienzo appeared. He turned from the keyboard and picked up his phone to speak to them directly again. "Essentially, yes. Somebody broke into our network and stole research data. We have no idea who or why."

"What data?"

Ienzo sighed and shook his head. "That's something else we don't know. We know it's something from Xehanort's time as an apprentice, but we apprentices covered quite a lot during that period. It could be anything."

Roxas grimaced. "Still, whatever it is, if it's something Xehanort worked on even partially…"

Ienzo nodded. "Right. It can't be good news. Tron and I have already started trying to figure out what the stolen data was about, but that will take some time."

Lea leaned in. "I thought the DTD was an isolated system. It shouldn't be possible to break into it from the outside, right? And anyway, why call us? What does this have to do with Nobodies at the old mansion?"

"Both of your questions have the same answer." Ienzo turned to the keyboard one more time, but only for a moment. With the press of a button, the video feed of him in the computer room was replaced by a graphic representing the two worlds of Radiant Garden and Twilight Town. Stylized computer monitors were superimposed on the two worlds, with a blue line linking the two.

"Back when Sora and I were trying to find a way to bring you back, Roxas, we networked Master Ansem's computer in the mansion's basement with the Hollow Bastion OS here in Radiant Garden. That way I could access the virtual Twilight Town from here while working on creating your replica body, but…"

"…but it also gave outsiders a way in," Xion said slowly, finishing Ienzo's thought. Roxas glanced at her. While he had never been as bad with computers with Sora, this stuff was still a little over his head. But Xion always had been a more tech-savvy than him; after all, she had hacked into the Organization's classified files once while trying to figure out who she was.

The graphic disappeared, replaced with Tron. "Right. That was an oversight on our part, and one we should have seen coming. By networking Twilight Town and Radiant Garden together, we accidentally created an entry point for anyone outside the Bastion to easily access the DTD."

Back to Ienzo. "That's why I called you to ask if anything had happened at the mansion recently. The Bastion has plenty of security, so anyone trying to reach one of our computer terminals would be caught easily. But the mansion is abandoned. If someone knew about the computer there, there would be nobody keeping an eye out to stop them from accessing it."

Roxas gasped and looked over at Xion. "That Dusk who had something!"

"It has to be!" Xion said with a nod. "Ienzo, when Roxas and I were fighting the Nobodies at the mansion, one of them was holding something tightly to its chest and fled before the battle was over."

Ienzo nodded as well. "That's what I was afraid of. But why would Nobodies – or heaven forbid, somebody ordering them around – steal Xehanort's research data? I suppose that's something we won't be able to answer until we know what the data was about."

Yeah, perhaps, but it still left a really uneasy feeling in Roxas's gut. "Is there something we can do to help speed that up?"

Ienzo shook his head with a smile. "Thanks, but no, Tron and I are working on it. I just called you to make sure my suspicions about where the hackers came from were correct."

"Well the least we can do is start keeping a better eye on the mansion," Lea chimed in.

"Thank you. And I'll contact you when we have an idea about the data–" The noise of a door slamming open caught Ienzo's attention, and he looked off-camera with a surprised expression. Roxas got a bit disoriented as the screen of his Gummiphone blurred and shifted while Ienzo turned to look at the person who, judging by the speed of his footfalls, ran into the room in a hurry. "Aeleus? What's going on?"

The three in Twilight Town couldn't see much of what was going on at Radiant Garden's end as Ienzo held his Gummiphone at his side, and Aeleus's voice was distant since he wasn't right up against the microphone.

"Ienzo, downstairs!" From the sound of things, Aeleus was trying to catch his breath as he spoke.

"The Chamber of Repose?" The screen blurred again, and then Lea, Roxas, and Xion were staring at the walkway that led to Ansem's lab. Ienzo must have hurriedly turned from Aeleus to the large window overlooking the laboratory's lower floor.

"It's Demyx! Demyx just disappeared!"

"What?!" Ienzo's shout was simultaneous with the trio's own.

"We were guarding the hall outside the Chamber. I looked away for just a second, I hear the door open, and the next thing I know he's gone!"

Lea grabbed the Gummiphone from Roxas and practically shouted into it. "Are you sure he didn't just go and take a nap somewhere?"

At the sound of his voice, Ienzo held up his Gummiphone so they could see both him and Aeleus. The large man shook his head. "No. There's nowhere to hide in the Chamber. But Demyx might be the least of our concerns. Ienzo, the Keyhole in the Chamber – it started glowing! It's so bright I was practically blinded."

"The Keyhole?! Aeleus, go alert Master Ansem!" Without a word, he ran off toward Ansem's study. Ienzo looked down at his phone. "Roxas, Xion, Lea. I take it I can count on you three to come investigate the Keyhole?"

Roxas took his phone back from Lea. "Do you even need to ask? We'll hurry over right away!"

Ienzo breathed a sigh of relief. So much was going on at once. "Excellent. Then I'll call Riku to bring the Gummi Ship to Twilight Town–"

"Don't worry about it. Aqua, Terra, and Ven taught us how to get around without a ship, and the others all know how, too. It'd take too long to pick us all up and then go to Radiant Garden."

"Alright then. Please hurry over here, and I'll inform the other Keyblade wielders."

"You got it!" Roxas was already on his feet as he hung up and pocketed his Gummiphone. In fact, he was already headed for the door. As he reached for the doorknob, it turned and opened on its own. Isa stood in the doorway with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the rush?"

"Isa! Cover for me!" From behind Roxas, Lea tossed his apron and notepad at Isa then dashed past him and into the dining area.

"Lea?"

"Sorry, Keyblade emergency!" Roxas called behind him without looking back, as he darted past Isa next. Xion followed soon after, leaving their dumbfounded friend holding Lea's uniform.

"We'll need to grab our black coats from home before using the Lanes Between," Xion reminded the boys as the trio emerged into the sunset streets of the Tram Common.

Roxas nodded. "Right. Then let's hurry!"


	5. The Flood of Light

**Chapter 5: The Flood of Light**

With a flash of light, three gates opened in the sunny, cloudless sky. The blue and white holes in reality hummed with power, but were only there for an instant as three flying shapes emerged from them, one per gate, and then the gates vanished as if they had never been. Aboard their Keyblade Gliders and clad in black leather coats that had protected them from the darkness of the Lanes Between, Lea, Xion, and Roxas looked out at the world beneath them: a circular walled city surrounded by water with a giant castle in the dead center. Radiant Garden.

Although they knew it was the world Lea had come from, Roxas and Xion had only been here once before, shortly after the Keyblade Graveyard along with everybody else. That was Isa had been recompleted though, so a combination of Lea being in a hurry to go see him and all three of them being so dead tired after all the fighting meant that the two hadn't gotten a good look at the world. As all three circled clockwise around the castle, the younger pair looked out over the city.

The town was divided into four quarters by stone walls and stretched nearly 360 degrees around the castle, save for the western quarter which was occupied by beautiful green gardens. A bustling marketplace was elevated above the northern quarter, and at the base of the wall on which the market sat was a courtyard full of dazzling water fountains. The three Gliders continued their circular route, pulling more and more inward toward the castle as they approached the eastern quarter – the residential district. The homes continued into the southern quarter save for the area right in front of the Bastion's front doors, where the mess of buildings cleared away for the town square. Roxas looked south of the square, beyond the city's outer wall, where a stone bridge stretched out across the enormous shimmering lake which Radiant Garden sat in the center of. On the horizon he could make out rolling green hills. Everything here was so beautiful; no wonder it was called the city of light.

"Guys, this way." As the two of them continued to look out over all the sights of Radiant Garden, Lea's voice pulled Roxas and Xion back to reality. They turned to him with bashful expressions, and Lea laughed. "I know it's a pretty place and all, but we've got things to focus on right now."

"Right. Sorry," Roxas said. Then a pause and a glance down below them at the town square. "I just can't believe you used to live here, Axel."

"Honestly? Me neither. It feels like a lifetime ago."

The trio descended on the Bastion, landing on a circular orange-brown platform at the base of the giant structure – the castle postern. When they were only about two yards up, as one they dismissed their Keyblade Gliders and dropped onto the stone floor. Once he had no more need for it, Roxas wasted no time in unzipping his coat and tossing it aside. A moment later, Xion's followed.

Xion moved to pick up the abandoned coats from the ground, but Roxas shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. "Leave them for now."

Xion looked at Roxas, back to the coats, and then to Lea who was already making his way for the door. She shrugged. "I guess so. We'll have to come back for them later though."

Roxas looked like he was about to roll his eyes, but instead he just motioned toward the stairs. "The sooner we visit those fairies, the better. Come on, let's catch up to Axel."

The inner halls of the Bastion were a maze that put Twilight Town's underground tunnels to shame. Last time they were here, Xion had actually gotten lost in them on the way to the room where Isa had been resting. This time Lea led them the whole way through and never missed a single turn. As their hurried footsteps echoed through the dark hall, he explained over his shoulder, "Isa and I broke in here all the time as kids. Even after all these years I've got the path memorized."

Xion quirked an eyebrow. "Aren't we going to the deepest part of the castle? What were the two of you doing sneaking all the way into there?"

"Oh uh, you know, boys will be boys." With an awkward, forced chuckle Lea turned the corner…and ran into something. All Roxas and Xion saw from their vantage point a little ways back was him stumbling backward. Lea rubbed his nose and let out an agitated grunt. "What's the big idea standing right around the corner?!"

"Sorry," came the halfhearted reply. As Roxas and Xion caught up, they saw a tall, broad-shouldered man. Behind him the hall changed dramatically. While they had been surrounded by cold and dark metal walls, this last stretch of hallway was considerably better lit and even had some nice pale yellow wallpaper. The guard whom Lea had collided with gave a half smile. "Boys will be boys, huh? I'll have to remember that the next time a pair of little brats try to break the lock to Master Ansem's study."

"You make it sound like we didn't succeed," Lea muttered.

"Xal–" Xion quickly jabbed her elbow into Roxas's side. "Dilan!"

Ansem's apprentice gave the two of them a silent nod in greeting, then stepped to the side and motioned to the door at the end of the hall. "The others are waiting."

"We're the last to arrive?" asked Xion. But Dilan was already shaking his head before her question finished.

"Not yet, no. So I'll wait out here for the rest of the Keyblade wielders. You head in and get caught up on the situation, though."

"Roger that, big guy." Lea slapped his hand down on Dilan's shoulder, but when Dilan said nothing, Lea slowly pulled his hand back and then looked to the kids. "Come on."

The door opened to a well-lit study with bookcases and diagrams lining the walls, but Lea didn't pay it any mind. He continued right on through to the door on the opposite end of the room, and so despite their curiosity Roxas and Xion also ignored the study that was practically begging them to dig through it and opted instead to follow Lea. Once more they were surrounded by cold metal walls, but that wasn't something that really bothered them when there was such a sight in front of them. Roxas's jaw dropped and Xion let out an audible gasp, then both ran past Lea and leaned forward with their hands on the railings.

"What _is_ this?!" Xion asked with wide eyes. She and Roxas looked all around them, taking in the sight of the machinery and countless capsules that lined the absolutely massive chamber they found themselves in.

"The Heartless Manufactory. This is where Xehanort and the others created the Emblem Heartless." Lea stepped up beside the two of them and directed their gazes downward with a point of his finger. On the floor of the Manufactory far, far below them was a rectangular entrance to a spiraling ramp leading even further down beneath the earth, with several figures too small for them to make out standing nearby. "Down there is where we're headed. That way leads to the Chamber of Repose and the Keyhole. Come on."

With a wave of his hand Lea led them into a familiar computer room, the place they had seen in the background while Ienzo spoke to them on the Gummiphone. Roxas also recalled being here very, very briefly when his heart and joined his new body, but that had only been for an instant before he had teleported to the Keyblade Graveyard. Past the Bastion's main computer and to the elevator, then down to the floor of the Heartless Manufactory.

As the elevator opened, the trio was finally able to see who it was that was waiting for them down there. Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo stood near the top of the spiraling ramp as they spoke to a short figure. Roxas stopped. "I guess we weren't the first ones here."

At the sound of his voice, two large round ears twitched ever so slightly. "Roxas, Xion, Lea! Gosh, it's good to see ya!"

"You too, Your Majesty," Xion said with a slight bow of her head.

King Mickey smiled back, then gestured up at the three apprentices. "Aeleus was telling me what happened. Things were kind of frantic when I got the call, so I hurried over without having the full picture."

The guard nodded. "As soon as I informed Master Ansem I returned here to see if anything had changed. Sadly it hasn't; there's still no sign of Demyx, and the Keyhole continues to glow unnaturally bright."

"Could you catch us up too, then?" Lea asked. "I'm not entirely sure what this world's Keyhole is even doing down here. Wasn't it in the Grand Hall way upstairs?"

"I'd rather wait until everyone is gathered before explaining."

Right, Aeleus was a man of few words. Lea shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Until then… Roxas and Xion." The two of them looked up at a pair of piercing green eyes as Even examined them from head to toe. Roxas took a careful step forward, subtly putting himself between Xion and Even. The scientist rolled his eyes. "Oh, relax. I am simply curious about your state."

"Our 'state'?" Roxas asked with a suspicious eyebrow raised.

"Yes. How are your bodies holding up? Anything odd, any pain?" Roxas and Xion glanced awkwardly at each other, and Even sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's just a regular medical checkup, albeit an impromptu one. I simply want to know how the replica vessels are working. Naminé was here the other day for the same thing."

"Oh. Um…" Roxas rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I feel fine, I guess? Everything is just normal. I don't even remember that this is a replica body most of the time."

Even nodded to himself. "Good, that's good. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Anything to make it as comfortable and natural as possible. And you, Xion?"

Xion rubbed her arm and looked away. It was kind of a touchy subject for her, given her history, but there was another awkwardness keeping her from meeting Even's gaze. "Uh, yeah. Same as Roxas, really."

"I see. And are you…" Even paused and crossed his arms. He had an expression that looked completely out of place on him: embarrassment. "Are you eating well, then? Three square meals a day, and not just ice cream? "

"Y-Yeah. Yes." Neither of them were looking at each other.

"Sleeping well? How about your studies? I understand you are on break from school right now, but a sound mind–"

Lea stepped up and put a hand on Xion's shoulder. "Xion's doing great, _Dad_. You don't need to worry, Isa and I are taking care of her and Roxas."

Even cleared his throat and adjusted his ascot before turning away swiftly – too swiftly. "Good. See that you do. That's all for the checkup."

As Even walked a little ways away, Mickey let out a chuckle while Ienzo gave the researcher a half-smirk. Roxas turned around to look at Xion, who let out a breath. "It's always weird speaking to him," she said, but there was the faintest of smiles on her face. "Even more when it's in person instead of over the phone."

Lea spoke quietly so only those two could hear. "Who knew that getting his heart back would turn him into a concerned parent? I guess watching over Ienzo years ago left an impact."

Roxas glanced over at Even, who was now speaking to the King again. "Guy still gives me the creeps, but I guess I can't hate him for what he's done for us… And for caring about Xion."

Then, a ding from the elevator. Four figures stepped out, led by Dilan who stopped at the top of the small staircase and held his hand out as a sign for the rest to continue down. The shortest of the three ran forward with a smile on his face. "Hey there, Lea!"

"Heya, Ven." Lea met Ven with a high-five, then Ven turned to Roxas and Xion.

"How are you two doing?"

"As well as we can be," Roxas said.

Xion stretched to look behind Ven, scanning for something she didn't see. "Chirithy didn't come?"

"Chirithy's sleeping. We left a note saying where we'd gone, though. Terra was halfway out the door just from the world 'trouble'." Ven looked over at Terra and Aqua, and while Aqua was speaking to the apprentices Terra had seemingly made a point of standing a little ways apart from them. He kept nervously glancing between the apprentices and the ramp leading down into the earth, though. "I think Terra still blames himself for all of this," Ven admitted.

The King clapped his hand together to grab their attention. "Well, looks like everyone's here!"

Aqua stopped in the middle of whatever she was talking to Ienzo about and turned around. Her gaze flickered over to the elevator before looking to the King. "Mickey, Riku and Kairi haven't arrived yet."

"They won't be coming." King Mickey held his arms out and gestured at the room. "Donald and Goofy aren't here either, right? The four of 'em already headed out a few days ago. They're off to go find Sora."

Lea grinned wildly. "With those two goofballs watching over them, how can Riku and Kairi fail? Sora will be home in time for dinner. In the meantime though, I think seven Keyblade wielders here is enough to handle whatever's going on with the Keyhole. And speaking of Keyholes…"

Lea turned to Aeleus, who cleared his throat. "Alright then. With everyone here, allow me to explain what exactly the Chamber of Repose is.

"As some of you may be aware, there was a Keyhole – the Final Keyhole – within this castle not very long ago. That was not our world's proper Keyhole, though. It was merely a way for Xehanort's Heartless to open the Door to Darkness with the seven pure lights." Aeleus looked around at the silent Keyblade wielders. The ones who weren't around at the time had previously been told about what had occurred then, so it wasn't news to them. He lingered on Terra, who met his gaze and then slowly gestured for Aeleus to continue.

"If you have read the reports that Xehanort wrote during his time here, then you know that he found our world's real Keyhole in the depths of the castle while we were conducting our…experiments." Aeleus had to stop and take a deep breath at that last part. With a sympathetic look, Ienzo continued for him.

"Eventually our laboratory was sealed off and experiments halted by order of Master Ansem. And rightfully so, though we were upset by it at the time. But once Xehanort banished Master Ansem into the realm of darkness, the first thing he did was undo the seal and modify the room where the Keyhole was. Originally it was actually a cave, a part of the Cavern of Remembrance that still exists beneath the castle. But we turned it into an extension of our laboratory, and then Xehanort added a large throne and Aqua's Keyblade and armor – though at the time we didn't know what they were."

Lea cleared his throat. "Okay, that was a lot to take in and I wasn't an apprentice for most of it, so let's see if I've got this memorized. Long story short, the Keyhole is down in that chamber where Xemnas would hang out for hours at a time and talk to Aqua's abandoned armor?"

"Putting it simply, yes."

"Gotcha. So, what's the deal with Demyx?"

Aeleus crossed his arms. "It was supposed to be standard guard duty. Demyx has been staying at the Bastion, and he has to earn his keep. We were keeping an eye on the Chamber in case any Heartless tried to approach the Keyhole. He was sleeping on the job, but it was a slow day anyway. I looked away for a few minutes to make a call about dinner plans, and when I came back Demyx was gone. So I checked inside the Chamber. But there was no sign of him in there, and the Keyhole was glowing."

"And that's where we're at," Ienzo concluded.

The King hummed in thought while shutting his eyes and crossing his arms. "I sure can't think of anything that would make a Keyhole glow when there's no Keyblade around. The question is what happened first: did Demyx trigger this, or did it make Demyx disappear?"

"Either way, our immediate concern should be the Keyhole." It was a new voice that spoke. From the elevator came an older man with his arms crossed behind him. Ansem the Wise. Trailing behind the lord of Radiant Garden was someone unfamiliar though: a boy in a purple lab coat with long white hair tied into a braid, who looked around Roxas and Xion's age.

"Master Ansem, your meeting with Mr. Leonhart–"

"Tell him it can wait, Alphinaud. This is more important." Once he came to a stop at the bottom of the small staircase Ansem looked at each of the Keyblade wielders, lingering especially on Terra and Roxas. For his part, Roxas shot him a glare in return. He knew Ansem was sorry, and that he'd made up for it, but just like Riku it was hard for Roxas to move on from this man's role in taking everything from him. "I am pleased to see all of you made it here quickly. After Aeleus alerted me I put off everything I had scheduled for today. If something is happening to the Keyhole, then as ruler of Radiant Garden it is my duty to see that it is taken care of. I owe the people of this city that much at least." After a pause, Ansem gestured to the large ramp before them that led into the darkness. "Now come! We have little time to waste."

The apprentices, including that Alphinaud boy, stayed behind in the Heartless Manufactory, but Ansem walked at the front of the group of Keyblade wielders as they descended into the Bastion's lowest point. It was awkward going; no one said a word and it felt like they were walking forever, just constantly moving down and down in a spiral. Eventually it did end though, and at the bottom was another door that opened into a brightly lit hall, a stark contrast to the darkness they had just been in.

"Don't look at the walls," Lea quietly warned Roxas and Xion as the group entered into the hall.

Well that just sparked their curiosity, and Lea should have known better. The floor and walls were comprised of the same dark blue tiles, but every now and then the tiles were broken up by white doors along the walls. Doors with their windows barred and chains keeping them locked tight. Xion stopped in her place so quickly that Roxas bumped into her from behind.

"Are those…_prison cells_?" The two looked over to Lea, who kept walking. But his hands were clenched tightly, and his face was pointed forward so starkly that he had to be deliberately keeping himself from looking at the cells.

Aqua, Terra, and Ven came up from behind Roxas and Xion and kept walking. Aqua looked back over her shoulder and the two of them without breaking her stride. "Just keep your eyes forward. Don't dwell on it."

Right. Those three must have seen all of this before when they came to get Aqua's armor. And Terra had some vague memories of it from his time with Xehanort. Roxas and Xion reached for each other's hands and continued forward one step at a time, toward the white doors at the far end of the hall where Ansem stood. As they approached Roxas could feel something on the other side of that door tugging at his heart, and Oathkeeper flashed into his grip without him calling on it. Around him the others' Keyblades all materialized too.

"I have not been here in person myself," Ansem admitted.

Terra slowly stepped up beside to the old man. "Let me. It was designed to only open for me anyway."

Ansem stepped aside, and Terra moved directly in front of the doors. There was no sign of any machine recognizing him, no beep or whirring, but something must have done so because he only stood there for a second before the doors slid open for him whereas for Ansem they had not. And immediately, the eight gathered there were almost blinded.

A searing bright light illuminated the entirety of the Chamber of Repose and much of the hall behind them, pouring forth from something on the far wall of the Chamber. Xion had to both squint and look between her fingers to even begin to take in the Chamber's appearance. A small circular room, Nobody emblems emblazoned on the walls, chain markings leading from those emblems to the center where a throne sat. It would probably have been grey and dim were the light of the Keyhole not shining so brightly. It was like staring directly at the sun, if the sun was a blinding blue color.

Lea turned away from the entrance and held his hand up to the side of his face to block the light. "How the hell did Aeleus even check the place when it's like this?"

"Maybe it's gotten brighter since then?" Ven offered while squeezing his eyes shut.

"Well then we better find a light switch, because–"

As one, everybody's Keyblades flashed brightly. In response to the seven keys, the Keyhole, too, flashed even brighter…and then began to fade away. Slowly but surely they were all able to open their eyes and look into the Chamber of Repose, and though the light never outright vanished, it wasn't nearly as overwhelming. The silhouette of the Keyhole on the wall in the center of the glow was now visible.

Lea held up Flame Liberator. "Well. Guess that's our switch."

Roxas was the first one to slowly enter the Chamber of Repose, and with his first step forward he willed Oblivion into his hand to match Oathkeeper. He didn't have any experience with Keyholes outside of those dreams of Sora's memories, but he knew that this Keyhole looked odd. Its bright blue and white glow was accompanied by what appeared to be sparkles or shimmering stars, like he was staring into space itself. A ring of light pulsed outward from the Keyhole every few seconds. Xion stepped up beside soon after with her hands clutched so tightly around the Kingdom Key that her knuckles were turning white.

"Guys, how are you moving?"

"Huh?" Roxas turned around, where Lea and the others were still standing in the doorway. "What do you mean, Axel?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Lea chuckled in bewilderment and clutched the side of his head. "Something's wrong. I can't take a single step into there. My legs work fine," and he showed this by moving backward a few feet, "but something just won't let me in."

Xion and Roxas glanced at each other in confusion. "Did a wall go up after the two of us entered?"

Aqua looked curiously at the two of them. "There's no wall. It's just that our bodies won't let us in there."

"Yeah, I feel like, scared," Ven said. "Like my heart is being…rejected by something, and it's keeping me outside. Terra, any ideas?"

Terra shook his head. "This definitely isn't something that Xehanort implemented. It's got to be related to that light. But then why can Roxas and Xion enter…?"

Ansem stroked his beard with concern evident in his furrowed brow. "This is certainly strange, and I have a theory, but we do have someone inside at least. Roxas, Xion, see what you can do with the Keyhole and then we'll see if we can enter."

"Okay…"

"And be careful!" Lea added.

Roxas and Xion moved as one around to the other side of the throne, facing the glowing Keyhole with an unobstructed view. They raised their Keyblades and the weapons reacted, light gathering on the tips as the two of them both remembered Sora doing so many times before. But the beam of light they were expecting that would lock the Keyhole never came. Roxas cried out in pain, the grips of his Keyblades burning his hands. Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and the Kingdom Key all clattered to the floor, and then Roxas and Xion only saw white. The room spun around them, they heard voices calling their names, but the voices were so very, very far away. And then the floor vanished beneath them, and they were weightless.

**x-x-x**

The first sense to return to her was touch. She was cold. So, so cold; cold like she was at the bottom of the ocean. The coldness spurred her on, and slowly – _slowly _– Xion woke up. She wasn't sure at first if her eyes were open or not; or if they were, if she had gone blind. It took several long minutes – or were they merely brief seconds? – as her mind caught up to her body that Xion realized her eyes worked fine. She was simply surrounded by absolute darkness.

Lying on the cold dark floor, Xion slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around. What was this place? She breathed into her hands and then rubbed her bare arms for warmth. So cold. But it wasn't the realm of darkness. There wasn't the power of darkness permeating this place, just…literal darkness. No light to show her where she was. …No, that wasn't entirely true. There was a very, _very_ distant point of light high, high up. Impossibly high up. It looked like a slightly larger than average star. But that was all there was. What was this place?

"Roxas?" Xion's voice called out to no answer save her own echo. Was Roxas unconscious like she had been, or was he not even here? He had been beside her whenever it was that happened, happened. So he had to be here, right? That feeling of weightlessness, that sensation of falling. Falling, falling, falling. But where had she fallen to? Xion's heart felt heavy and half-asleep, like she had felt while she was a part of Sora.

Xion spotted something. Some_one_. A figure lying on the floor in the darkness some distance away. Not that she could make out the floor, everything was just black. But it had to be Roxas, right? Slowly Xion climbed to her feet. Her legs wobbled, but she found her footing and began jogging over to the unconscious figure with no sound but her echoing footsteps.

"Roxas!" Xion dropped to her knees beside the unconscious young man. He was face down, and he had dirty blond hair, but he wasn't Roxas. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and gym shorts, not Roxas's familiar outfit. And besides, his hairstyle was all wrong. Who was this person? Xion slowly and carefully rolled him over.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Demyx…"

The missing Nobody lay motionless with his head in her lap. What was Demyx doing here? He must have fallen to wherever this place was, and the Keyhole in Radiant Garden had to be the door that had led them here. But how? Demyx was a goof but he also would never do anything dangerous. He wouldn't have approached the Keyhole of his own free will, would he?

Questions for later. With one missing person found, she had to find the other. Xion looked around into the darkness one more time, but to no success. She couldn't make out Roxas anywhere; if he was here, he was far enough that the darkness hid him from her. Xion's shoulders drooped and she stared down at her hands. "Where are we…?"

Suddenly, a flash of light came from beneath her and Demyx. Xion gasped and looked down as a ring of light expanded outward from their position. A fluttering of wings, and Xion looked up as doves flew out in a circular formation from the ever-expanding light. As the darkness faded away, the space within the ring revealed itself to be a massive floor comprised of stained-glass with a lovingly crafted and detailed image upon it. She finally knew where she was, and once again Xion felt like the world had been pulled out from under her.

The Station of Awakening.

* * *

_In the process of writing the opening for this chapter, I did an analysis/comparison of Radiant Garden's layout between KH2 and BBS. You can find the post on my Tumblr, regiss-tides, under the tag "Radiant Garden"._


	6. What the Stars Tell Us

**Chapter 6: What the Stars Tell Us **

"ROXAS! XION!"

Lea stared into the Chamber of Repose in horror, wide-eyed and feeling lightheaded from the fear. Gone! They were gone all over again! Where had they just vanished off to?! Ven and the King were grabbing him by his clothes and pulling him back, but they didn't need to. No matter how much Lea desperately, _desperately_ wanted to barge into the Chamber then and there, the light still pouring out of the Keyhole continued to shove his heart away and keep his feet firmly planted outside the door.

"Lea, calm yourself!" Ansem the Wise's harsh tone got Ven and King Mickey to release their grips and Lea stumbled forward as a result, but he was still unable to will himself to move beyond the doorway.

"Calm myself?!" Lea span around and spat the words at Radiant Garden's ruler. "My best friends are gone, old man! They've vanished all over again! And you of all people are not in _any_ position to tell me not to worry about them disappearing!"

"Did I say not to worry?" Ansem responded with an icy chill in his voice as he directed a glare reminiscent of his time as DiZ back at Lea. "No, I told you to calm down. Calm yourself, breathe, and think. That is what I expect of someone who was an apprentice at my Bastion."

Lea scoffed. "Please. You were already gone by that point."

"And how should that matter? You apprenticed here with or without me, and moreover, you are a Keyblade wielder and know the ways of the heart. So I repeat again, Lea: breathe and think. If something had truly happened to Roxas and Xion, then you would feel it. You know in your heart that you would."

Lea said nothing, but his tensed up muscles did relax slightly. He stared down at his hands.

After a few moments, King Mickey spoke up. "So what do you think did happen to them, Ansem?"

Ansem shook his head. "I wish I knew. I would wager that they were taken somewhere, presumably to the same place as Demyx, but beyond that I haven't the faintest idea."

**x-x-x**

Okay, calm down.

Breathe.

Think.

The Station of Awakening. A Dive to the Heart. There was no mistaking where Xion had found herself, there was no mistaking the large stained glass pillar. She had dived here herself once, long ago in her dreams, shortly after she had first learned about the Replica Program. But this Station of Awakening and that Station of Awakening were definitely not the same place. Slowly Xion lowered the unconscious Demyx from his position with his head resting in her lap, and then stood up to examine the image on the floor.

The question was, whose Station of Awakening was this? From what Xion had seen and what other Keyblade wielders had told her of their own experiences, the image on the floor of a Dive to the Heart was supposed to be of the person whose heart have been dived into. Her first instinct was it must have been Demyx's; however, there was no sign of Demyx anywhere on the floor's detailed imagery. In fact not a single person could be found anywhere in the artwork.

What Xion saw instead was an image of a castle divided in two right down the middle, with the left side shrouded in darkness and the right side bathed in light. The left half of the castle sat on cold blue stone, while the right half was surrounded by vibrant flowers of many different colors. Circles that repeated around the edges of the pillar contained the Heartless emblem and a completed heart, swapping between the two with every other circle. Obviously it depicted the duality of Radiant Garden and Hollow Bastion, but with no identifying figure the question remained:

"Whose heart is this?"

"Xion!"

Xion whirled around to see Roxas running toward her from the far edge of the station. "Roxas! Thank goodness! Where were you? I called out into the darkness but you didn't answer me."

Roxas caught up to her and paused to catch his breath. "Sorry, I just woke up a moment ago. Where are we?" His eyes wandered down to her feet, or specifically to the person at her feet, and he flinched back in shock. "Is that Demyx?!"

Xion looked down at him, still as unconscious as ever. "Yeah. I guess he must have come here the same way as us. Although… I don't know why Demyx would approach the Keyhole if it was glowing. He'd never go somewhere dangerous if he could help it."

As Xion spoke, Roxas crouched down to examine him. He was no doctor of course, but it didn't take a doctor to know how to check a pulse and temperature. Roxas's frown deepened as he pressed the back of his hand against Demyx's forehead. "He's alive, at least. But it's weird that he's been in here longer than us and is still unconscious, while we woke up faster."

"Yeah… Maybe it has something to do with us having Keyblades?"

"Or maybe it's because this isn't our first Dive to the Heart. Or some third option." Roxas gently opened up Demyx's eyelid with his fingers, then jumped to his feet with a shocked expression. "His eyes aren't gold!"

"_What_?" Xion was so surprised by that that for a moment she was sure her heart had stopped beating. Quickly, she dropped down her knees and repeated Roxas's motions, opening Demyx's eye. Of course Demyx didn't respond, and she hadn't expected him to, but Roxas was right. Instead of gold, his iris was blue-green just as she remembered from the old Organization. The other eye was the same too. She stared up at Roxas, absolutely bewildered. "But how? Roxas, why isn't he a vessel anymore?!"

With his eyes locked on Demyx, Roxas shook his head. "I have no idea. I mean it's a good thing, absolutely! It means every last bit of Xehanort is gone, right? But _how_?"

"Do you think it was the light, maybe?" Xion climbed up to her feet once more. "Like if it consumed him and brought him here like it did us, did it purge Xehanort's heart from him too?"

Roxas looked like someone had just slapped him. "The light! The Keyhole!"

Xion stared. "Did you seriously forget?"

"I just woke up, gimme a break!"

"I guess you always are like a zombie first thing in the morning." Roxas and Xion both laughed at her joke, but it was hollow laughter. Both had a million questions and no answers. Where were they, what was wrong with Radiant Garden's Keyhole, and why hadn't the others been able to approach the Keyhole?

And first on both their minds: How did they get out of here?

"I had to fight a Twilight Thorn to wake up before," Roxas offered.

"A Darkside for me." But both looked around – there was no sign of anything, be it Heartless or Nobody. The Station of Awakening was still as empty now as it was when Xion had woken up, just the two of them and Demyx. Everything was exactly the same as it had been, and – wait. "Roxas, look."

Xion pointed upward, and Roxas's eyes followed. Up above them, high, high up, what should have been the empty blackness of a normal Dive to the Heart was anything but. Thousands of glittering stars looked down on them, bright and vibrant. There were so many, and all so crystal clear. It was as if they were standing in a vast empty field in the countryside with no light pollution around for miles.

"It's beautiful," Xion breathed. She was transfixed, mesmerized by the sight.

But why were they here? There had never been anything like this in any Dive to the Heart that either of them had seen or heard about before.

Roxas had to snap his fingers in front of Xion's face to pull her attention away from the stars. When she finally turned to him, he examined the artwork on the floor. "This station keeps getting weirder and weirder. Stars where there never were before, no way to identify whose heart we're in, no Heartless or Nobodies. It almost makes me question if we really are in a Dive. If we are, I don't think it's a _person's_ heart."

Xion smiled gently as she watched him pace back and forth. "I hear a theory coming on."

Roxas stopped pacing, crossed his arms, and looked up at the stars again. "Well, we _were _at Radiant Garden's Keyhole…"

_criACK_

A sound like cracking glass echoed throughout the Station of Awakening and drowned out all other thoughts from the pair's heads. Knowing what they were about to see but not wanting to see it, Roxas and Xion slowly and nervously turned in the direction of the sound. Sure enough, there was a large fracture in the middle of the station's floor, right across the castle's Great Crest. And that wasn't all: light was leaking out of the crack, accompanied by sparkles reminiscent of the stars up above. It was just like the light that had been coming out of the Keyhole.

That wasn't good.

_crack_

Roxas and Xion took a nervous step back as another part of the Station of Awakening cracked open and more light began to leak out. More and more the beautiful artwork was breaking apart as cracks formed in the stained glass all around them. Roxas hurriedly knelt down and picked up Demyx, awkwardly holding the unconscious man with his arm around Roxas's neck.

"What do we do?" There was a nervous edge in his voice that Xion hadn't heard since their Organization days.

Xion clutched at her chest tightly and frantically shook her head. The cracks were spreading, the light was growing brighter, and they were rapidly running out of room to stand. "I've never seen anything like this!"

Light not only from below, but from above as well. The stars flashed brightly, and Xion was worried they were about to be sandwiched between two walls of light. But no: the starlight died down to normal levels after only a moment, but that flash was enough to call her attention skyward. Directly above the center of the station a number of stars were swirling around each other, moving in a spiral like a miniature galaxy. Slowly (too slowly for Xion's liking, as she stepped away from another crack) the cluster of stars formed into a shape, a sparkling outline of something familiar.

"Roxas, a Keyhole!" It hung in the sky some distance above their heads, but it was unmistakable.

"Think it will help at all?"

Xion's Keyblade was already in her hand. "Can't make things worse."

"I've got Demyx, then. You get that Keyhole!"

"Right!"

As Roxas held tightly onto Demyx, Xion took off across the Station of Awakening to reach the Keyhole that waited high up above, glowing a pale gold. Her boots left hollow footsteps on glass that echoed all around them, accompanied by the hum of the light that was welling up from underneath. She leapt over a growing crack, felt the warmth of the light against her bare legs, and then stuck the landing on the other side and quickly turned upward. The Keyhole was directly above. Xion gripped the Kingdom Key tightly and pointed it forward as light gathered on the tip. She directed it toward the Keyhole–

The floor gave out beneath her.

Xion's brief scream of terror mixed with Roxas calling her name. The section of glass upon which she had stood had gone askew, flipping at an awkward angle and sending Xion through the air. Beneath her she saw the mass of light that had been growing beneath the Station of Awakening, now unobstructed with the cracks having come together to form a large hole in the center of the station. Whatever was about to happen, it would happen soon.

Xion crashed onto the floor, felt her arms rub up against broken glass. A Cure could heal that later. She fumbled for her Keyblade, which had landed a few feet away. After a moment it flashed back into her hand. This section of the floor gave out too, and Xion jumped away as fragments of glass fell into the abyss of light. Her Keyblade was still aglow and ready to aim at the Keyhole, but its glow paled in comparison to that brightness coming up from below.

"Xion, hurry!" Roxas's voice called out to her, and Xion glanced over to see him backed up against the edge of the platform, the glass collapsing all around him. The ground beneath her own feet shook and Xion jumped before it gave way. In midair she spun around so she was facing the sky, held her Keyblade up, and locked her eyes on the Keyhole.

The beam of light fired.

It pierced the Keyhole high up above at the same time that Xion crashed into one of the last few fragments of glass that still hung above the abyss of light. Prone on the floor, Xion stared up as a shattering sound rang out across this Dive to the Heart. The sky itself seemed to break like glass as the area around the Keyhole fragmented open, a golden circle and orange and blue pattern surrounding the glowing Keyhole. The stars in the black sky shined brightly and started raining down, becoming a meteor shower all around Keyhole glowed brightly, even brighter than the light that was welling up beneath their feet, and its light expanded downward. For the second time that day, Xion and Roxas were consumed by light and felt weightless…

…And then crashed into the floor of the Chamber of Repose.

The three of them lay in a pile in front of the throne, with Roxas and Xion face-down against the cold metal floor and Demyx sprawled across them. With a grunt Xion pushed herself up off the ground and awkwardly tried to get into a sitting position while pushing Demyx off her without hurting him; he was still unconscious. It took some work, but when they finally settled with Demyx lying on the floor, Roxas climbed up to his feet then held a hand out to help Xion up. Only once she was on her feet again did Xion realize that the Chamber was dim and grey. The oppressive light was gone, and the Keyhole was nothing but a faint outline on the wall.

"Roxas! Xion!" Xion saw only a blur of black and red as Lea collided with the two kids and grabbed them into a tight group hug. "Don't you ever do that again! What happened?!"

Xion spoke with strain. "A-Axel, I can't breathe."

When he finally loosened his bear hug on them, Xion took a deep breath and looked over as the others all entered the room. Terra hurried to Demyx's side and picked him up gently while Ansem examined him.

"Where were you?" Lea repeated.

"A Dive to the Heart. I have no idea beyond that." Roxas turned from Lea to Ansem and Terra. "Demyx's eyes…"

Ansem glanced at Roxas, then wordlessly pried open Demyx's eyelids. "My word! Did you find him like this?"

"Yeah. No clue what happened to him."

"Or what happened to _us_," Xion added. "Why were we the only ones who got sucked in there? Why could only we approach the Keyhole?"

King Mickey scratched his head. "Well whatever ya did in there, it at least caused the Keyhole to settle down."

Ansem nodded at Terra, acknowledging that Demyx was fine, then turned to the group. "I have a theory, but it is only that. If we take it as true that Demyx, Xion, and Roxas were the only ones who could enter that Dive to the Heart, then the question becomes what do the three of them have in common?"

"Former Organization?" Ven offered.

Ansem shook his head. "Lea and arguably Terra fit that bill as well, but they were rejected by the light the same as the rest of us. No, what these three have in common is something else."

Roxas frowned and locked eyes with Ansem. "You mean that we're Nobodies."

Ansem met Roxas's gaze for a long, quiet moment before replying. "Yes. Or so it would seem; I say again that this is a theory. But with the information we have now, it would appear that only a Nobody could engage with the light from the Keyhole."

"But why is that?" Roxas demanded with a step forward. If there was one thing he didn't like hearing, it was Ansem talking about Nobodies.

Lea reached out to Roxas. "Hey, Ansem didn't mean anything by that."

But Roxas ignored Lea and took another step. "What makes us so special?" Worried he was about to lash out against the sage-king, Xion grabbed his arm. Roxas glanced back at her, but relented. His shoulders slumped and he said nothing more.

Near the door, Aqua had rested her elbow in one hand while her other hand cupped her chin. "Questions and more questions. We still don't know what that light was, or what triggered it. And now we have to wonder why, apparently, only Nobodies can approach it. I don't know where to find the answers, but there's someone who might know something."

The King perked up. "You mean Master Yen Sid!"

"Yes."

Lea ran a hand through his hair. "I guess it's not like we have any other leads. Roxas, Xion, are you two up for another pit stop before we head home?"

Xion spoke before Roxas. "Absolutely. We have to figure out what's going on."

Terra's arms shifted as he moved Demyx into a more comfortable position. "Then I'll take Demyx upstairs to rest. And after that we'll all go to Master Yen Sid's tower."

Roxas silently glowered, but Xion once more grabbed him by the arm. Ansem hadn't meant anything negative by bringing up Nobodies, and she hoped Roxas knew that. "Come on, Roxas. If it's true that only Nobodies can go to that weird Station of Awakening, then we especially need to learn all we can."

"…I guess," Roxas relented. Then he grimaced. "But does this mean we need to grab our black coats again?"

**x-x-x**

The Mysterious Tower was an odd world. Composed of a small floating island and the namesake tower, it was never in the same place twice. It drifted on the currents of the Ocean Between, directed by the whim of its master. Sometimes it was near Twilight Town, other times by Disney Castle. This time it was all by its lonesome among that sea of stars, floating near an asteroid belt but otherwise in the middle of nowhere.

Master Yen Sid leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard with a frown. Once more he found seven Keyblade wielders had gathered in his tower. If there was ever a sign that something had gone wrong, that was it.

"And that's the whole story," King Mickey said, finishing his summary of the events at Radiant Garden. To the King's sides stood Xion and Roxas, as the focuses of his story. Lea was behind Roxas, and Terra, Aqua, and Ven were behind Xion and the King. Roxas was visibly uncomfortable in his black coat, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other every minute or so and absentmindedly toying with the zipper. Xion stood with her Gummiphone's camera pointed at Yen Sid and Tron on the screen. He had called when they arrived, wanting to be part of the conversation.

Yen Sid rested his hands on his knees and sat up straight. "From what you have told me, it would appear that what occurred in Radiant Garden was the phenomenon known as the Flood of Light."

A low murmur swept through those assembled. Most eyes turned to Terra, Aqua, and Ven, having easily the most experience with ancient legends and matters of the Keyblade between the three of them. And Terra and Ven in turn looked to Aqua, but she sadly shook her head. "I've never heard of that before."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yen Sid nodded at Aqua's words. "I would expect not. To the best of my knowledge, it has never happened before. Perhaps there is a point of reference for you all to understand, however." With a gentle wave of his hand, Yen Sid conjured a circular image of the Keyblade Graveyard on the top of his desk, its edges concealed by swirling smoke.

"At the end of the ancient Keyblade War, the connected World was swallowed by the darkness that the war brought about, plunging everything into shadow." The facsimile of the Graveyard collapsed inward, the smoke expanding in a clockwise motion to swallow it whole. Slowly the smoke gave way to an image of many worlds dotting the Ocean Between. One by one, the miniature worlds turned black and then vanished. "And just under two years ago, shadows poured forth in the form of the Heartless seeking out the many worlds' hearts. As with the Keyblade War, much of existence lost to the darkness. Do you see what these two incidents have in common?"

"We'd have to be blind not to," Lea said with his arms crossed.

Yen Sid nodded and the image on his desk vanished. "Darkness consuming the World and bringing about destruction; if we were to give a name to this phenomena, the Flood of Darkness would be an apt description."

Slowly, the points started to be connected in the minds of those assembled. Terra was the one to put it into words, his voice heavy with worry. "Then this Flood of Light…?"

Yen Sid's expression was grim as he confirmed Terra's unfinished question. "If there exists a Flood of Darkness, then it only makes sense that it would have a counterpart."

"But how?!" Ven shouted. He quickly moved his way between Xion and the King, right up to Yen Sid to speak to the old master directly. "How can the light be dangerous? I don't get it."

Yen Sid stroked his beard once again. "We must drink water to live, but too much and we will drown. The sun gives us warmth and sight, but it can also scorch and blind us. Do not mistake this incident as the light being cruel or malicious, for it is just as warm and kind as you have all known it to be during your journeys. But in all things there must be moderation."

The King frowned and reached a hand out imploringly. "But Master, if the light's not actin' against us exactly, then what _is_ causing this flood?"

"Have you ever wound a spring so tightly that, once it is released, it jumps up with enough force to hit you?" Yen Sid asked the group.

Lea laughed and pointed just below his eye. "Had a nasty cut for a while as a kid because of just that."

For the first time since the meeting began, Tron spoke up from Xion's Gummiphone. "It's basic physics. If you put enough force on something, that force is going to build and build and has to release eventually."

"In this case it applies to the metaphysical as much as the physical," Yen Sid explained. "Following your clash at the Keyblade Graveyard, when Master Xehanort successfully obtained the χ-blade, Kingdom Hearts was inundated with darkness as part of his plan to purge the World."

A shudder passed through the room. All of them remembered that sight, seeing purple and black crawling across Kingdom Hearts like an infection. The dark fireballs raining down like meteors, the shift in the atmosphere, the very air they breathed, as Xehanort was one step away from accomplishing his decades-long goal.

Yen Sid continued. "Make no mistake: that was prevented. We are not facing a purge of creation the way Xehanort intended. But that spread of darkness cornered the light, it put too much pressure on it. And now the light is releasing that pressure and pushing back, but in doing so it is overcompensating. Light will pour forth from the hearts of the worlds and out of their Keyholes until the entire world is put to slumber. That is the Flood of Light: a tide of starlight, washing the worlds away."

"Put to slumber…" The King jumped up and slammed his hands on Yen Sid's desk. "The Sleeping Worlds?"

"Indeed. Unlike the darkness which entered a world's heart and destroyed it, the light which emerges from the heart will plunge the world into the realm of sleep. Still, though it may not be as destructive as the Heartless, the Flood of Light can cause plenty of damage in its own way. Make no mistake about that."

Xion gasped. "Then, what you're saying is the Dive to the Heart we entered–"

"Was the heart of Radiant Garden itself, yes."

Roxas and Xion glanced at each other as this information dawned on them. It certainly explained the imagery on the platform, at least. Hopefully by stopping the Flood of Light in Radiant Garden the Station of Awakening had been restored, too. But wow… To enter the heart of a world itself. Incredible.

"But if that's the case, why could only Demyx, Xion, and I enter it? Or even approach the Keyhole?" asked Roxas. "Is there something strange about Radiant Garden?"

"It is not an aspect of the world's heart, but an aspect of the Flood of Light. Those who dwell in the light, as most of us here do, cannot interact with it. As Mickey's report said, you all felt your hearts being rejected by the light pouring forth from the Keyhole. Initially it is too weak to do so; that is how Dilan could investigate the Chamber of Repose. But as it grows stronger, the Flood of Light rejects those who dwell in the light, and burns those who dwell in the dark. Only Nobodies, as beings that exist in the in-between, can properly approach a flooded Keyhole at its full strength."

Xion's fingers tightened on her phone. "Then the only ones who can properly combat the Flood of Light…"

Yen Sid finished for her. "…would be someone who is both a Nobody and wields a Keyblade, yes. Roxas and Xion, you two are the World's only hope in this crisis."

Wow. Okay, no pressure. Xion suddenly felt like this entire tower was resting on her shoulders. She looked over to Roxas, whose fist was clenched tightly. She knew that, while he didn't have fond memories of being one, he didn't exactly let being a Nobody bother him these days. He'd fully embraced his connection to Sora. No, that wasn't Roxas's issue. She could guess what it was, though. He just didn't want Ansem the Wise to be proven right about something.

Roxas finally spoke, slowly. "One last question, then. About Demyx. He's still unconscious."

"Yes, and I would wager that's the result of Xehanort being purged from his body so forcefully. It could be a while before the pain subsides and he awakens. Xion's first instinct was correct: the Flood of Light was what cleansed him of that fragment of darkness." Then, Yen Sid's fingers tightly gripped his robes and he frowned deeply. "But Demyx would have no way of knowing that. He would never have chosen to dive into the Flood of Light of his own volition."

Xion sighed. "I suppose we'll need to wait for him to wake up before we have any answers about what happened." Still, it was good to know that the last piece of Xehanort was well and truly gone.

"I'll be sure to contact you when he does awaken!" Tron chimed in. "And whenever else you need help, too. Roxas, Xion, I'm ready to aid the two of you on your journey!"

Xion flipped her phone around and smiled at the man on the screen. "Thanks, Tron. You're sweet."

Roxas moved into the camera's view so Tron could see him too. "Yeah, you could really come in handy."

Not everyone was on board with this, though. Lea planted his hands down on both kids and leaned down so his face was between the two of theirs. "Whoa, wait. Hold up. What journey are we talking about here?"

Roxas grabbed Lea's hand as the older man ruffled his hair. "You heard Master Yen Sid, Axel. Only Xion and I can stop the Flood of Light."

"Well, sure, but… I just got you two back!"

Xion giggled. "You're sweet too, Axel, but we'll be fine. Besides, you saw how frozen up you were back there. If that happens again, you'd kind of be in our way."

"And your form with a Keyblade is kind of poor too," Roxas said with a laugh.

"Hey!" But Lea relented and pat the kids' heads one more time before he stood up straight. "All right. I don't like it, but all right. You two go gallivanting off on your own adventure, leaving me behind to watch over Isa all by my lonesome."

Roxas rested his hand on his hip. "Just make sure you take him out for walks."

Behind the trio, Aqua spoke up. "I know it's hard, Lea, but they can more than handle themselves. And there's not much else the rest of us can do anyway."

Lea rubbed the back of his head. "…Yeah. Good luck out there, kiddos. We're rooting for you."

Terra cleared his throat. "Well, there's not much we may be able to do as far as the Flood of Light is concerned, but there's something else I can do."

"Huh?" Ven turned around to his older friend.

"What do you mean, Terra?" Aqua added.

"I'm gonna head to Radiant Garden instead of back home. Ienzo told me about some of Xehanort's data that was stolen, and I might be able to help him and Tron figure out what exactly it was. You know, put some good use to the bad memories floating around my head."

"I'd be happy to have your help, Terra!" Tron chimed in from the Gummiphone.

However, Ven looked almost heartbroken. "But…"

Terra put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ven. I'll be just a short flight on your Glider away."

"Ah, yes. Speaking of which." After this series of conversations, Yen Sid once more called everyone's attention to himself. "Roxas, I could not help but notice how uncomfortable you are in that coat of yours." Roxas's face turned red and he quickly let go of the zipper which he was still messing with. "Not that I can blame you, given your history. I suggest you and Xion leave your coats behind here."

"How are we supposed to get around the Lanes Between without them, though?" Xion asked. Not that she wasn't grateful for the suggestion. Wearing them didn't bother her as much as it did Roxas, but to never see those coats again was an option she'd be happy to take.

"For today, you can use my train to return to Twilight Town."

"Train?" Lea, Xion, and Roxas all asked at the same time.

The King held up a finger. "I'll show ya to it on our way out, don't worry!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but for the future?"

"I will contact the three good fairies, who created the darkness-blocking garments that several of our friends currently wear. I am sure they will be happy to supply the two of you with some as well. On the morrow, return to the train station in Twilight Town and the first step of your journey will begin."

Xion smiled with her hands behind her back. "Great! Then I guess our first stop will be Enchanted Dominion." She and Roxas bowed deeply and spoke in unison. "Thank you, Master."

With a gentle smile, Master Yen Sid stood up and waved his hand forward. "Go forth, chosen wielders of the Keyblade! May your hearts be your guiding keys."


	7. The Night Before

**Chapter 7: The Night Before**

That night found two pajama-clad teenagers sitting on a bed together. Roxas plopped down on his sheets with a small white box between his crossed legs, something that looked like it came right out of the Castle That Never Was. And it had, in fact; the box was all he had taken with him when he left Organization XIII. Across from Roxas, Xion watched with her arms wrapped around her knees as he fiddled with the lock shaped like a Nobody emblem.

"It's sooo complex. Do you need a Keyblade?" Xion asked with a wry grin.

Roxas laughed. "Shut up."

Roxas's problem with the darn thing lasted about a minute more, but eventually the lock clicked and Roxas pumped a fist in the air. Xion rolled her eyes and gave him a golf clap, but Roxas took it in stride anyway and bowed. "Thank you, thank you."

Roxas set down the key on his bedside table and then slowly opened the box with its front turned toward Xion. She lowered her legs and peered inside. Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh wow. You weren't kidding when you said you had a bunch of keychains."

"Yeah, some of them I bought from the Moogle, and others I picked up in worlds I had missions in."

After a moment of peering at the collection of keychains, Xion titled her head and reached into the box. "What's this?"

What she pulled out wasn't one of the nearly two dozen keychains, though. Held between Xion's thumb and index finger was a little blue ball that seemed to be made of glass or crystal. She peered at it searchingly, then held it up to the window for a moment before frowning at the night sky and turning to hold it up to Roxas's lamp instead. Roxas didn't need to see through her eyes to know what she was looking at as the light filtered through the ball.

He held his hand out. "Xion, can I?"

Xion turned her head back to him and placed the ball in his hand. "What is it?" she repeated.

A bittersweet, nostalgic smile found itself on Roxas's face as he held the ball up to the lamp. After staring into the light dancing within the blue crystal, he curled his fingers around the ball and brought his hand into his lap. "A memento." As Roxas spoke, he absentmindedly rolled the ball from hand to hand. "Hayner, Pence, and Olette gave it to me in the other Twilight Town. It's from when I won the Struggle tournament."

"Oh…" Xion's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry if I brought up some bad memories."

But Roxas shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's one more treasure for us to share." A short laugh. "You know, I actually lost it, like, right after I got it. Riku stole it from me when he was working with DiZ, and then I think Sora held onto it for a while. But Riku gave it back to me during that beach party."

"I'm glad you have something to hold onto from then." At Xion's words, Roxas glanced back up at her to see her soft smile. He returned the smile and nodded.

"Yeah, same here. Now, what do you say we get started?" Roxas tilted the box and let the keychains spill out onto the bed between him and Xion. Twenty-two was more than plenty for Xion to choose from. They had come together tonight to find a new Keyblade for her to use on their journey; she had said she didn't feel right using the Kingdom Key, since it was meant for Sora. And well, Roxas had all of these just laying around. While Xion examined the little tokens, Roxas set the crystal ball inside the box and put the box on the table.

Xion shifted her legs beneath her and leaned forward to investigate the pile of tokens. She ran her hands through them, pushing some aside and picking others up to examine more closely. She held a pink one up and dangled it from her pinky finger by its little hoop. "What's this one called?"

Roxas had to think for a moment because he had a couple of pink keychains. Sora was lucky, all of his keychains were very distinct from each other. But the name came to him eventually. "Pain of Solitude."

The corners of Xion's lips quirked up in a sort of half-smile at the name, but she didn't say anything. She leaned over and started searching again. A moment later she sat back up straight while holding a black and white token up. "What's its name?"

"Uhh…" If he had a few pink keychains, he had _so many_ black and white ones. It took Roxas a good thirty seconds to go through the options. "True Light's Flight." Xion couldn't hide a short laugh at that. Indignant, Roxas swiped the keychain from her hand. "Hey! I didn't name them! They just sort of came to me." If anything she should be laughing at Terra, Aqua, and Ven all having a Keyblade called _Sweetstack_.

"Sorry." There was still laughter behind Xion's reply. "Sorry. Okay, how about this one?" She held up one more keychain with three pink crystals set inside it.

Once again it took Roxas a short bit to recall the name. "Sign of Innocence, I think."

"Well let's give it a look." Xion sat up straight and held her hand out. Light danced at her fingertips, and then with a flash of light the Kingdom Key was in her grip. Xion set the Keyblade down in her lap and unhooked the Lucky Emblem-shaped token from the end of its chain, then attached Sign of Innocence's. Another flash of light, and the Keyblade had transformed.

Most of the Keyblade was a color somewhere between dark blue and black, decorated with several pink gemstones similar to the ones on the keychain. The grip was white, and a similarly white circle accented the cross-shaped teeth of the weapon. Xion slowly and experimentally swung it through the air. "It feels pretty good. I think I'll use this one!"

"Glad to hear it. It boosted my magic when I used it, so that's perfect for you too." Roxas picked up the box once again and began putting the pile of keychains back inside. Kingdom Key's went in, too. A flash of light in the corner of his vision told him Xion had dismissed Sign of Innocence, but he hadn't expected what happened next. Xion tackled into him, knocking the box out of his hands (good thing he'd closed the lid).

She hugged him tightly from the side. "Roxas, thank you."

"U-Uh…" Her arms were around his arm. She pulled him tighter and Roxas felt heat creep up his cheeks. Their position pressed her chest against his arm, and Roxas awkwardly averted his gaze; both so she couldn't see him blushing, and so he didn't accidentally glance down at the shirt of her pajamas with the top button undone. "No problem."

Xion did eventually pull away. Whether she had noticed Roxas's uncomfortable position, or whether she had even been doing it on purpose or accidentally, Roxas wasn't sure. She twined her fingers together in her lap. "It's just, like I said, it felt really weird to be using a Keyblade meant for Sora. Like I was overstepping my bounds. Especially with him…gone."

"Yeah, I get that." He didn't let it show much, but Sora being gone bothered him too. They were still two sides of the same coin, after all.

"And, well, anyway," Xion looked aside. Was she blushing now, or was that a trick of the light? It was hard to tell, she was basically silhouetted against his lamp. "Using one of your keychains makes it kind of like you're always with me?"

With his throat suddenly feeling very dry, Roxas coughed and looked out his window, desperate for a change in subject. "So, um, you ready for tomorrow?"

"A little anxious, actually," Xion admitted with a nervous giggle.

"Me too. We had missions in the Organization, but we never went on a long journey like this. And if even half of what Master Yen Sid is true, so much is depending on us…"

"Then there's Xehanort's stolen data, and however that's related," Xion mused. "But I'm sure we can handle all of it! After all, Sora did this three times over."

The two shared some light laughter at that. "You're absolute right," Roxas agreed. "And if a dork like him could do it, so can we." He glanced at his clock. "Though we may want to get at least some sleep in before then."

Xion looked over at his clock too, then her shoulders slumped slightly. She rubbed her arm. "Oh… Yeah, I guess so."

"You gonna be okay?" That night he heard her crying out in her sleep was still fresh in his mind.

"I'll be fine." She didn't sound so sure, though. Xion hopped off the bed and made her way over to the door. She paused and looked back over her shoulder. Her bright blue eyes caught the reflection of his lamp. "Good night, Roxas."

Roxas picked up the box of keychains and gave her a small wave. "Sweet dreams, Xion."

**x-x-x**

The way Lea saw it, there was one downside to living in Twilight Town: light pollution. They sat around and watched the sunset a bunch, but whenever he wanted to watch the stars there wasn't really an ideal spot since the city's lights always drowned the night sky out. And sure, that wasn't new for him; both Radiant Garden and the World That Never Was always had their lights on at night too. But Axel's missions in the Organization had led to him experiencing some really wonderful night skies on more rural worlds, and sometimes Lea missed that. Though as he sat on the roof of their apartment building, Lea had to admit that seeing the lit streets and buildings from above was a pretty good replacement for a star-filled sky.

The door to the stairwell opened behind him, but Lea didn't turn to face it. He did listen to the footsteps cross over to him, though. "How has that not rotted away yet?" Isa asked.

Lea looked down at the 'that' in question, an old ice cream stick that hung loosely between his fingers. It was hard to tell in this lighting, but the word 'WINNER' was written on the slightly splintered wood.

"I've got experience handling things with care," Lea replied, almost indignant.

Isa sat down next to him. "Experience keeping litter around in an envelope, you mean."

"It's not litter!" Lea turned to Isa and waved the stick above his head as he spoke. "It's…a memento!"

"Relax, you know I'm just messing with you." Isa propped one knee up and the two turned their attention back to Twilight Town. The clock tower especially looked rather beautiful, with the way the clock faces were lit up. After a few minutes of silence, the type of silence that comes with familiarity between two old friends, Isa spoke up again. "So, you're worried."

It was a statement of fact, not a question. And Lea was kind of glad for that if he was being honest; he didn't have it in him tonight to try and save face, and least not in front of Isa.

"How can I not be?" Lea's shoulders slumped and he glanced down at the ice cream stick. "I only just got them back, and now they're heading off to who-knows-where, and I can't even do anything to help."

"You gave them the okay at Yen Sid's, didn't you?" Lea wasn't looking at Isa, but he could practically _hear_ the raised eyebrow.

"Forgive me for being nervous anyway."

"Of course you're nervous – you're human. Even I feel a little trepidation at the thought of Roxas and Xion going out into the worlds alone. But," and now Isa turned to Lea, and Lea to Isa. "They've more than proven themselves capable. For whatever wrongs we may have inflicted upon them in the Organization, if one good thing came out of it it's that they learned how to handle themselves. You can't babysit them forever, Lea."

"Yeah… Yeah, I know. I know I'm just being overprotective. But…" Lea ran his thumb along the 'WINNER' on the stick's surface. "Well, how about this: one stays home. Why does it have to be both of them? If only Nobodies can deal with this Flood of Light thing, then why's Xion have to risk herself too?"

"Would you rather Roxas do this all on his own?" Isa asked coolly.

"I… You know that's not what I meant."

But he had voiced the question, and now Isa was going to give him an answer even if he didn't want it. "Replicas are a type of Nobody, I know you read Vexen's reports on the project back in the Organization. That's why the Flood doesn't affect her."

"…Just let me want them to stay safe, man. Even just one." Lea didn't play favorites or anything, far from it. But it'd be a load off his mind, if only a little bit, if one of them was safe at home. Or would it? Now that he thought about it, one of those kids being all on their own instead of both of them out there watching each other's backs would probably be worse for his stress, not better.

"I already told you it's perfectly fine. I even said I'm a bit nervous as well. Weren't you listening?"

Lea smirked and shoved his hand into Isa's shoulder. "Sorry, your condescending speech kind of blends together after a while."

Isa returned the smirk, if not the shove. "Then how about this: Embrace your concerns, but don't dwell on them. Especially not at the station tomorrow."

"What's that about?" Lea watched Isa carefully, but Isa was once again watching the streets below them instead of looking at him. "Hey, you in there?"

After a few moments, Isa pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. "I'm sure Roxas and Xion are having a conversation along these same lines right about now." He turned to look at his fiery friend. "They look up to you, Lea. You're their authority figure, far more than I am. How do you think they would feel if they see you freaking out about this, when they're sure to have concerns of their own and telling themselves it will be fine?"

"That's…" Well it wouldn't help them, that's for sure. Yeah, Lea had to admit that. "You're totally right, Isa. They'd freak; it'd be like I was proving their worst fears right. I've got to keep it together for their sake, don't I?"

Isa nodded. "Roxas and Xion are your best friends. It's only natural to be worried, to be scared, about them going off on their own. And they're kids: they're sure to be scared too. So, Lea." Lea looked over to Isa, whose green eyes were all but drilling into his own. "Embrace that fear. It's how you know you're human. But don't wallow in it. I know you're worried, and you can be worried. It's good and right that you are. But put on a brave face for them tomorrow." He tapped the side of his head. "Got it memorized?"

Lea snorted a laugh, looked down at the WINNER stick, and allowed himself a small smile. "Yeah, I do."

**x-x-x**

Roxas and Xion both weren't used to waking up very early, but today was a special case to put it lightly. The sun hadn't even fully risen yet when they sat in the kitchen of their apartment with a pretty impressive breakfast prepared by Lea. And despite Roxas's skepticism, _no_ Isa did _not_ help him cook, thank you very much. While Roxas practically inhaled his meal, Xion took a bit longer. She spent half the time just staring at her plate.

"You okay, Xion?" Lea asked her when she finally did finish. "I didn't think my cooking was _that_ bad."

Xion quickly shook her head. "No, that's not it! I just didn't sleep well last night, that's all."

"Nerves?"

"Yeah… I'm sure it was that." Xion looked down again, not noticing Roxas watching her with concern.

The matter was dropped with that, and after cleaning up Roxas, Xion, Isa, and Lea all made their way to the train station together. Twilight Town didn't seem to want to wake up any more than the kids did; the streets were largely empty except for the occasional jogger or something, and most shops wouldn't open for a couple more hours. The trains ran throughout the night though, so getting into the station wouldn't be a problem.

When they finished climbing Market Street and reached the Station Plaza, Roxas came to a stop and looked out over the town as the sky gradually grew lighter. He felt something wet streak down his face and put his hand up to his cheek to wipe away the tear.

"Roxas?" Xion's voice made him jump. He turned to see her watching him with concern, while Lea and Isa continued up to the station doors unaware. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Not sure where it came from." Roxas rubbed his eyes again and grinned. "Come on, Xion! Let's catch up!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along in a run toward the doors. But from as she was dragged along behind him, what Xion didn't see was Roxas fight back more tears. He knew full well why; he finally came home, and now he had to leave it all behind once more. Roxas couldn't help but feel like he may not see Twilight Town again.

Just inside the station doors, Isa was already at the teller. "Tickets for two students."

"Not sure why they need tickets for a magic train," Lea mused beside him.

"The people here don't know that," Isa snapped quietly. A moment later the teller handed him the tickets, and he in turn handed them to Xion and Roxas. "I believe we're all set."

The ticket in Roxas's hand felt heavier than any little piece of paper had the right to be. With this he was off to another world, away from home and most of his friends. How would things go? They'd talked about it last night, of course, and it had helped to be sure. But boy, he wished Lea could come along. Even if he did though, he wouldn't be able to help.

"Well, uh, I guess…" Lea cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "Tron's in charge while you're gone, I guess. Be good, and stay safe. Don't stay up too late and eat well. Got it memorized?"

"You sound like Even," Isa said with a half-smile. "They're not toddlers, Lea."

"Lighten up, man! I was just–" Lea was cut off when Xion rammed into him and pulled him into a tight hug.

She craned her neck and looked up with a smile and watering eyes. "See you soon, Axel. Promise you'll call us?"

"…Yeah. I promise." Lea ruffled Xion's hair, and a moment later Roxas collided with him and also joined in on the hug. Lea crouched down and returned it as Isa watched on (and the teller, awkwardly). When they finally pulled away, Lea sniffled. "I'll call every day if I have to. And seriously, guys. Stay safe."

"We will," both of them said together.

Isa placed a hand on their shoulders, and both flinched slightly at his touch, but not nearly as much as they had the first time he'd done so some weeks ago. "We'll be eating ice cream together again in no time."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other and smiled. "Right," Roxas said. "Well then, I guess we'd better get to the train."

"Hey, what about us?"

The station doors shut behind another trio that had entered, the three kids pausing right at the entrance to catch their breath. When he had finished recovering, Hayner shot Roxas a glare and marched right up to him with his arms crossed. "You think you were just gonna leave without saying goodbye?"

"Hayner…"

"Isa told us you were going on an adventure, like the ones Sora used to have," Olette said.

Pence nodded. "We came to see you off. It just seemed like something we oughta do."

Once again Roxas started tearing up. He fought to hold it in, but he was sure he was just making it more obvious in doing so. He actually had the chance to say goodbye to them this time, to do more than just disappear without warning…

Hayner punched Roxas in the shoulder. "Pull it together."

"Right. Sorry." Roxas rubbed his arm across his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out: the crystal orb. He took Hayner's hand and dropped it into the other boy's palm. "Here. Something to remember me by."

"Uh… What?" Hayner examined the ball with an inquisitive stare, then turned around and held it up to the morning sun through the glass doors. After a few moments he turned to Roxas. "Not sure I get it. And besides dude, you'll be back in no time!" Hayner looked down at the ball as he rolled it between his fingers. "But I guess I'll keep track of your tacky little charm. You know, for a day or two."

Roxas snickered. "Right."

Olette took a couple steps forward and pulled Xion into a surprise hug. "Keep an eye on Roxas. You know how boys can be."

Xion laughed. "Yeah, but you'll have your own hands full with these two."

"I like to think they know not to disobey me," Olette replied with her hands on her hips. "But seriously, good luck."

"We'll hold down the fort here," Pence said. "So go get 'em."

Master Yen Sid's train whistled sharply, telling them it was not going to wait much longer. Roxas glanced back at over his shoulder at the sound. "Xion, I guess that's our cue."

Xion took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks once, then nodded. "Yep. I'm ready."

Roxas turned back to their assembled group of friends, lingering on Lea and Hayner the longest. "We'll be home soon."

Hayner gave Roxas a fist bump. "It's a promise."


	8. Three Good Fairies

**Chapter 8: Three Good Fairies**

Roxas had to admit, the Ocean Between was a heck of a lot nicer to look at than the dark corridors or Lanes. Sitting on his knees and staring out the window of Master Yen Sid's train, he watched as stars, asteroids, and other varieties of space objects streaked by on a backdrop of deep blue. It was a lot prettier to look at than what (admittedly little) he remembered of Sora's first journey. Maybe Sora just hadn't paid close attention, he never was one to exactly stop and smell the roses. A vaguely seashell-shaped constellation grabbed Roxas's attention, and then as they came around the corner of a large rock he caught sight of a sparkling nebula. There were the occasional Heartless flying by too, but with Xehanort and all his derivatives finally gone no one was actively seeking to spread the Heartless anymore and their numbers were significantly fewer.

Xion's giggle pulled his attention away from the window, and he turned around and sat down in his seat to see her speaking on her Gummiphone. Roxas hadn't even known she'd been having a conversation; he must have been more engrossed by the sights outside than he realized.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Xion said with a smile on her face. "Roxas isn't the best at computers either, so Sora must be where he gets it from."

"Hey, I'm not as hopeless as he is!" At Roxas's interjection, Xion looked up at him and stuck her tongue out then turned back to her phone. Curious, Roxas scooted over to her and peered down at the screen.

"And Donald wasn't much better, though Goofy surprisingly knew his way around the keyboard– Oh, hello Roxas!" Xion's friend on the other end of the call was Tron, who greeted Roxas with a wave.

"Heya, Tron. How are things over at Radiant Garden?"

"Good! The Keyhole hasn't acted up at all since you left, so thanks again." Tron fiddled with something on the terminal at his end, and Roxas took the opportunity to peer behind him. What a bizarre world Tron lived in: he was inside a neon green room with rectangular panels blinking and sliding all over the walls.

"Oh, is Terra there yet?" Xion asked.

"Yes, Terra arrived last night like he said he would." Tron spoke without looking up from his typing. He paused and looked up at them apologetically for only a moment. "Sorry! While the others are helping Terra settle into his room upstairs, I'm running a scan to find what that stolen data was about."

Xion's brow furrowed in concern. "We can let you go if you need to focus on that."

Tron chuckled and shook his head as he continued to work. "Not at all, don't worry! It's largely automated, but every now and then I do need to check in on it." After a few more keystrokes he finally turned his full attention back to the call. "So, have you arrived yet?"

Roxas glanced back out the window and still saw only stars. "Doesn't look like it."

"Excellent, then that gives us more time to install the application." At Tron's words, two simultaneous dings sounded through the train car. An icon of a giftwrapped present popped up in the middle of the screen of Xion's Gummiphone, and Roxas pulled his own dinging phone out of his pocket to see the same icon on his.

"What's it do?" Xion pressed the icon and the box unwrapped and opened, then Roxas did the same. Tron's video feed on Xion's phone shrank and moved to the corner, then an identical miniaturized Tron appeared on Roxas's phone so he could speak to both of them. With Tron only in the corner, the majority of space on the screen was taken up by this new program.

With a proud smile, Tron crossed his arms and stuck his index finger up. "I developed it myself after analyzing the energy signature of the light from the Keyhole – it can identify worlds where the Flood of Light is emerging. With so many worlds out there we can't expect the two of you to stop by each and every one, so while you're flying around out there your Gummiphone will alert you if somewhere nearby is experiencing the Flood of Light."

Roxas tapped at his screen and an image of the surrounding region of the Ocean Between appeared. "Wow! That's really impressive, Tron!"

Xion agreed. "You programmed this all in one night? Thank you!"

Sheepishly, Tron looked away and scratched at his cheek. "Oh gosh, no need to flatter me. I'm just doing what I can to help. And I can monitor the scanner from here at the DTD, too."

As if on cue the train's whistle blew sharply, and at that exact moment both Gummiphones chimed once again. One world on the map of the area flashed a couple times before their screens zoomed in on it. It was a world with a towering white castle over green forests on one side, and a wicked black castle surrounded by thorns on the other. The name was…

"Enchanted Dominion?" Xion and Roxas glanced at each other. "Isn't that the world we were going to anyway?" Xion asked.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, to get the new clothes Master Yen Sid arranged for us. That sure is convenient." He looked up at the window as a brilliant light illuminated the outside. In an instant the beautiful sight of the Ocean Between was gone, replaced by a clear blue sky. Roxas and Xion both got up on their knees and turned to watch out the train's windows as they approached this new world.

The train descended swiftly but at a gentle slope as it moved through the sky of Enchanted Dominion. From above, this beautiful world looked like a painting. Trees of various cool shades of green covered the landscape, which itself had many cliffs and hills exposing white rock beneath the grass. Towering above the canopy some distance away was a castle of white spires topped by purple roofs. The castle vanished from sight as the train moved below the canopy and came to a stop floating above a small pond in a grove surrounded by short cliffs. There was a light fog settling near the forest floor, just enough so it was hard to see too far through the trees.

The doors slid open and Roxas and Xion stepped out onto the soft grass. As soon as the train was empty it began to shimmer and fade, and then in a flash of light it vanished, leaving them alone in the forest. "I suppose we'll be able to fly out on our Gliders when we're done anyway," Xion thought out loud.

"If something goes wrong remember that you can call me," Tron said. "I'm always here at the DTD, and it's never a bother."

"You've been a lot of help, Tron. Thanks," Roxas said. With a smile and a wave Tron ended his call. Roxas and Xion pocketed their phones and looked off into the forest. "Well, let's find those fairies, huh?"

Xion took the first step forward. "Yeah, let's go."

Whether by coincidence or design, the train had dropped them off near their destination and Roxas and Xion didn't need to travel far. After only a few minutes of travel the pair emerged into a glen with a thin river streaking through it, at one end of which was a water wheel connected to a cottage. From the open window they could smell something baking, and wow, it smelled good. But was this the place? There was only one way to find out.

Xion knocked on the wooden door of the humble cottage. A few moments passed with no response, but surely the people living here wouldn't leave their window open and food cooking if they weren't going to be home? She knocked again, and this time someone called from inside. "Sorry! I'm terribly sorry, I'm coming!"

A little old lady dressed in red opened the door, and she looked up at Xion and Roxas with a face covered in…what appeared to be icing? She glanced down at herself, made a sound somewhere between agitation and embarrassment, and pulled out a stick that sparkled with pink light. With a simple wave, her clothes and face were immediately cleaned up! Well if that wasn't a sign that they had the right place, then what was?

"Are you one of the good fairies we've heard about?" Xion asked.

"Indeed! And you must be the Keyblade wielders Master Yen Sid told us to expect? Come in, come in!" The old woman grabbed Xion by the hand and pulled her in, with Roxas following closely behind. The interior of the cottage was quaint and cozy, but like the woman had been everything was covered in icing, cake batter, flour, and so on. It looked like their kitchen had exploded.

"That's just Fauna's cooking, dears. Don't mind it, we'll have everything spick and span in a moment!" She waved her wand and launched bolts of pink sparkles at a bucket, mop, and broom which jumped to life and began cleaning up on their own. "We were preparing to greet you after Master Yen Sid sent his message, but we may have lost track of time. We're getting so many visitors lately! Yesterday an old friend drops by, and today you kids!"

As the fairy continued to speak, Roxas awkwardly cleared his throat. He didn't want to be rude, but… "I'm sorry. What was your name, ma'am?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, how terribly rude of me. My name is Flora. And you two are Roxas and Xion, yes?" At their nods of confirmation, she grinned widely and curtseyed. "Welcome to Enchanted Dominion, children. Let me call my sisters and then we'll help you right out." She turned toward the kitchen and called out, "Fauna! Merryweather! Our guests have arrived!"

Two more fairies stepped out of the kitchen, one in green and one in blue and both just as dirty as Flora had been when they met her at the front door. As Flora had done Fauna and Merryweather waved their wands to quickly clean themselves and hurried to greet the kids with smiles on their faces.

"Roxas and Xion, we've heard so much about you," The green one, Fauna said.

Merryweather, the one in blue, spoke bluntly. "You're here for clothes, right?"

"Merryweather, watch your manners!" Flora admonished, and Merryweather huffed. "I apologize for her."

Xion shook her head. "It's okay! I'm sure Master Yen Sid told you, so that is why we're here. We need clothes to block the darkness."

Flora hummed in thought. "Well, I suppose there's time for tea and cake afterward." She clapped her hands and turned to Fauna and Merryweather. "Alright then! Ladies, let's get to work!"

"I'll do the designing!" Fauna held up her wand and pointed it at them. In the next instant Roxas was blinded by a bright burst of green, and as he blinked away the flashing lights and his vision slowly came back to him he found that he was dressed in something entirely new.

…And not very comfortable either.

Roxas tugged awkwardly at the high collar of the suit Fauna had put him in. And what a suit it was: he was all dressed up like he was going to a high society dance at a castle, complete with cape and weird tassel-things on his shoulders. Beside him Xion's face was bright pink as she examined the full on ball gown she now wore, oversized ribbons and opera gloves included.

"Um…" That was all Xion managed to get out before Flora whipped Fauna on the head with her wand.

"Fauna, they can't go adventuring like this! You go work on the cake, Merryweather and I will make their clothes."

"But I–"

Fauna's objections were cut short as Flora grabbed her sister by the shoulders and pushed her into the kitchen. "No no, off you go! You just worry about the cake, dear."

"Well, if you say so, Flora."

While Roxas and Xion stood around awkwardly in their new royal attire, green light flashed awkwardly from inside the kitchen and then Fauna started to speak to her ingredients. A moment later Flora came back out while tapping her wand in her palm. "Now, back to business!"

A flash of pink and the uncomfortable outfits were gone, replaced with their old clothes but now entirely pink as if Xion and Roxas's closets had been dipped in a tub of paint. Xion eyed Roxas up and down and then covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

"Uh– " Roxas began before an agitated Merryweather interrupted.

"You already got away with making Kairi's pink. Blue!" Another flash of light and now the dumbfounded kids stared at each other as their solid pink clothes became solid blue.

"Make it pink!"

Roxas blinked rapidly as once again pink filled his vision. "Hey–"

Merryweather shoved Flora aside. "You can't put a boy in pink, Flora! Make it blue!"

This time the magic only hit Roxas and not Xion, so now he stood in blue while she stood in pink. "We're breaking all the gender norms here today," Xion snarked quietly beside him.

Flora didn't seem to hear that and turned to Merryweather. "Oh you're absolutely right, Merryweather. What was I thinking?" She patted her sister's shoulder and Merryweather nodded with a smug smile on her face. But with Merryweather distracted, Flora pointed her wand at Roxas again. "Make it red."

Merryweather's jaw dropped at the sight, then when she recovered she angrily breathed in through her nose. "Why you… Blue!"

Roxas quickly grabbed Xion and while she yelped in surprise he shoved her in front of him. The magic turned her clothes blue instead of his, to which Merryweather cupped her own chin and leaned forward inquisitively. Beside her Flora scratched the side of her head with her wand.

"How's it going in there?" Fauna leaned out from the kitchen while messily stirring a bowl and splashing cake batter all over the place. Roxas and Xion sent desperate expressions her way, but she only giggled and turned back to the kitchen. "Don't worry, the cake will be ready when you are."

Flora and Merryweather continued to peer at the red Roxas and blue Xion closely, until Flora tapped Merryweather on the shoulder. "How about a compromise?"

"Compromise?" Merryweather raised an eyebrow and Flora leaned in to whisper to her ear. Several seconds passed as Merryweather's expression slowly transitioned from skepticism to surprise, and finally to delight. "Oh, I like that!" Both fairies turned to Roxas and Xion, and their smiles made the two kids step back nervously.

Xion held her hands up protectively. "Hey, don't we get a say in our own clothes?"

Flora smiled sweetly. "You can always change your mind after, but don't worry, I'm sure you'll quite like what we've come up with." She turned to Merryweather and held up her wand. "Together now. One, two… Three!"

With hopefully the last blinding flash they'd see today, Roxas was consumed in red light and Xion in blue. Once again Roxas felt his clothes shift and change on him, but it wasn't to the prince-like outfit from before. When he could finally see, Roxas looked down at his new outfit and slowly nodded in approval. "Hey, not bad."

He was dressed primarily in dark grey, with his boots, jeans, and slightly darker shirt all bordering on black. The hooded and sleeveless jacket he wore over that shirt was a lighter grey, accented with red at the bottom that matched the red inside his popped collar and at the plaid ends of his sleeves. He examined his hands; his left retained his checkerboard wristband and rings, while on his right he wore a dark grey glove similar to Sora and Riku's that was also accented in red. From his belt hung a chain with three charms on it: a thalassa shell, a crown, and a heart.

Xion reached over and tugged at the X-shaped pendant that hung from a thin chain around Roxas's neck, modeled after the zipper on his old clothes. "Matching necklaces," she said with a grin while holding onto an identical one around her neck.

Xion let both pendants go, Roxas's resting against his black shirt and Xion's against her pale yellow tank top, over which she wore a partially zipped up black jacket with purple sleeves. Xion tested her jacket's hood while she examined herself, eyeing the purple and white shorts and light grey leggings with an approving smile. On her right wrist was a black sweatband, and something on her left wrist caught Roxas's eye as it jingled slightly from her movement: a charm bracelet with charms identical to the ones hanging from Roxas's belt, albeit smaller. The necklace wasn't the only accessory they had in common.

"Well dears, what do you think?" Flora asked.

Xion bowed her head. "You worried me with that gown, I have to admit. But I really like these!"

Roxas slightly adjusted the strap of his glove. "Yeah. I'm honestly kind of surprised."

"Part of our magic matches the clothes to your tastes. We appreciate your kind words, but it wasn't entirely our doing," Flora explained. "Now then, as promised, your clothes will protect you from darkness in the Lanes Between; and, heaven forbid you end up there, from the realm of darkness too. They can also change to disguise you in worlds where you might stand out too much!"

"Thanks again," Roxas said. He paused, felt his pockets to confirm his Gummiphone was still in there, and then continued. "We also learned when we got here that the Flood of Light has started up on your world. Do you know where the Keyhole is?"

With frowns suddenly on their faces, Flora and Merryweather spoke in hushed whispers before turning back to the two of them. Merryweather was nervous as she slowly answered. "We do, but it's in a rather dangerous place."

"It would be something of a journey just to reach the Keyhole," Flora added. "So before that the least we can do is–"

An explosion interrupted Flora and shook the house. Instinctively Roxas and Xion summoned their Keyblades and turned to the source of the noise – the kitchen? Wait… Fauna stuck her head out, her green hat on fire. "The cake is ready!" she exclaimed happily.

**x-x-x**

The least the fairies could do before Roxas and Xion made their way to the Keyhole was offer them cake and tea; that was what Flora insisted and she wouldn't take no for an answer. Fauna's cake was… Well it certainly didn't look like something you would serve at Le Grand Bistrot, putting it nicely. It had about a dozen layers, was lopsided and burned in some areas, and at some point Fauna had run out of icing and used whipped cream for the rest. Despite all appearances it was actually really good, though! Roxas was less impressed with the tea, but that was just his taste; Xion was already on her second cup.

Fauna's hands were clasped in front of her while an animated broom carried their dirty dishes away. "My, how lovely! I'm glad you kids enjoyed it. You know, I can never get Merryweather to eat my cooking."

"Because it'll probably kill me," Merryweather said with her mouth full of a store-bought cookie.

Flora wiped at her mouth with a napkin and set it down on her plate for the broom to collect. "Two days in a row with guests. You sure have been busy, haven't you, Fauna?"

Fauna giggled. "I do so enjoy cooking!"

Xion finished her tea and set the cup down gently. "You mentioned this other guest before. Is it anyone we'd know?"

"Oh I'm sure not," Flora said with a shake of her head. "It was an old friend of ours, a young man we raised. He just came by to visit us after a few years away, that's all."

"Oh, that sounds nice."

Flora smiled fondly and leaned back in her chair. "Yes, it was a pleasant visit, but rather short. He picked our brains and had a slice of cake, and then he was off." Then she straightened up and looked to the two Keyblade wielders. "But enough about us. You two have an adventure to get to! You said you were after the Keyhole?"

Finally, time to get moving. Roxas leaned forward. "That's right. And you said earlier you know where it is?"

"Well yes, but…"

"It's very dangerous up there!" Merryweather spat some crumbs out as she spoke.

Fauna waved a dismissive hand. "Oh I'm sure they can handle it! Let's not forget, they are Keyblade wielders."

"The last Keyblade wielder we sent up there charged right into the guards head-first."

Fauna giggled. "Oh Roxas and Xion don't strike me as being as impulsive as Ventus was."

"Ven?" Roxas and Xion exchanged a look. He'd been here before? Xion turned back to the fairies. "Well Roxas and I actually have some stealth training from our old, um, employment. So we could probably avoid any guards… But what is this place, anyway?"

"The Forbidden Mountain," Flora said slowly. There was a weight behind her words even if Roxas and Xion didn't quite understand the reason. "Our world's Keyhole is located in the castle of the evil fairy, Maleficent."

"Maleficent!" Xion gasped, and Roxas's jaw hung open a little. Even if they hadn't ever seen her in the flesh, their hazy memories of Sora's first journey and information they'd heard from the others were more than enough to paint a chilling picture of that witch. "I had no idea this was her home world too."

"It is, though she hasn't been here in years. Not since our world first fell to darkness and she left for Hollow Bastion."

"Then if it's abandoned, why the worry?" Roxas asked.

"It's definitely not abandoned!" Merryweather insisted. "Maleficent left it behind, but her goons are still there all these years later."

Flora nodded. "Yes, and though they're weak on their own they have large numbers."

"Well like Xion said, we know how to move around without being seen." Roxas shrugged. "I'm sure we can handle it if we do get caught, though."

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Flora admitted. "Alright then. Come along." She stood up and motioned for everyone to follow. After a few moments Roxas, Xion, Fauna, and Merryweather joined Flora outside the front door of the little cottage. Flora pointed up above the trees and toward the horizon. "The Forbidden Mountain is that way. You can just barely make it out, see? Though at this distance it will probably be tomorrow by the time you reach it."

It was a bit hard to see through the trees, but if Roxas squinted he could indeed make out the ominous peak that Flora was pointing to. "Should we wait until morning to leave then?"

Xion shook her head. "No, I don't think we should wait. We don't know how quickly the Flood of Light moves."

"In that case, here." Flora waved her wand and in a flurry of pink sparkles two bundles of fabric appeared, one in Xion's hands and one in Roxas's. "Sleeping bags. You'll definitely be camping out in the woods tonight, there's no way around that."

Roxas smiled down at the rolled up fabric. It felt soft enough. "Sounds kind of fun, honestly."

"And don't you worry about returning those to us, dears," Fauna added. "They'll disappear when you're done with them."

Xion bowed her head, and after a moment Roxas mimicked her. "Thank you for all of your help." With a glance at each other, Roxas and Xion waved goodbye to the fairies and started making their way into the woods.

"Oh, once last thing!" Flora called from behind them. Roxas and Xion glanced back over their shoulders. "Keep a wary eye out in those woods, dear. This world is full of fairies, but not all are as friendly as us."

Another glance between the two. Fairies? How much trouble could they be? "We'll keep it in mind," Roxas said. "Thanks again."

**x-x-x**

Roxas and Xion journeyed for some time through the woods, until eventually the sun began to set just as Flora had said it would. By the time darkness had settled on the forests of Enchanted Dominion, they found a small clearing to set up camp in. As Roxas set up their sleeping bags, Xion assembled a ring of stones and pile of sticks then cast a small Fire spell. The soft orange glow of a campfire illuminated their surroundings, at least for a few yards.

"There, that should do it." Roxas stood up straight and looked down at the sleeping bags in approval, one on each side of the fire pit. He sat down across the fire from Xion and chuckled. "Can you believe it? Our first camping trip and we forgot to bring marshmallows."

"Yeah," was Xion's halfhearted reply. Normally she'd probably be just as excited to try out camping as Roxas, but, well… It was night. And with night came sleep, and with sleep came… She curled her fingers together in her lap. "Hey, Roxas."

"Hm?" Roxas had been looking up at the night sky, but he turned his attention back to her.

Xion eyed the sleeping bags on opposite sides of their campground. "Can I…sleep next to you tonight?" Roxas stared, and Xion felt her cheeks heat up. This was stupid, she shouldn't have asked. "Never mi–"

"Of course you can." Without a further word, Roxas stood up and began to move Xion's sleeping bag next to his.

A soft smile found itself on Xion's lips. "Thanks."

"What's the occasion though? Feeling lonely out here?"

"No, that's not it… You remember that night at home, right?"

Roxas paused. After what felt like an eternity, he resumed his work. "Yeah."

"That wasn't a one-time thing. I have those nightmares every night. So I guess… I was just hoping that if you're nearby, um."

Roxas held a hand up and gave her a reassuring smile. Just from that Xion already felt the nervousness that accompanied her every evening melt away. "I kind of figured they were recurring. You don't need to even ask, Xion. If it would help you get a good night's rest, then I'd do anything."

Xion looked down at her fingers, and she was thankful for the firelight hiding her creeping blush. "Thank you, Roxas."

After a makeshift dinner of whatever leftovers the fairies had provided them, Xion put out the fire with a Blizzard spell and the two got into their sleeping bags. Even with the fire out they weren't in pitch blackness, with the stars and full moon bright up above.

Roxas yawned. "Sleep tight, Xion."

Xion watched him quickly fall asleep as soon as he hit the pillow, just like he always did. She smiled and shifted to get more comfortable, then an idea came to her that mad her bury her face in embarrassment as if Roxas could somehow read her mind. Slowly, nervously, she pulled her hand out of the bag and reached downward toward his hand. Even if he were asleep, his fingers grasped hers.

Sure that she wouldn't be having any nightmares like this, Xion shut her eyes. "Good night, Roxas."

* * *

_Roxas and Xion's new outfits were respectively designed by yenrzzvezdrz and itporl, on Tumblr and Twitter respectively. And used here with the artists' permission, of course. They're by far my favorite KH3-style fan designs for the two that I've seen._

_Roxas: __yenrzzvezdrz . tumblr post/180875426323/its-finally-done-dude-drawing-the-poses-was-so_

_Xion: __twitter . itporl/status/1060605333121318913_


	9. Through the Fog

**Chapter 9: Through the Fog**

The cheerful chirping of birds alerted her to the morning. Xion slowly opened her eyes and blinked the fog of sleep away as her surroundings came into focus around her. It took a moment for her to register where she was, that initial disorientation of waking up somewhere besides your bedroom lingering in her head. But as the weariness of the morning cleared away so too did her memories catch up to her. They were camping in Enchanted Dominion, her and… Wait.

Xion's fingers gripped at thin air; the hand she had fallen asleep holding no longer there. Where was Roxas? Xion pushed herself up into a sitting position, and as she did so some fabric on top of her shifted; besides the sleeping bag from the fairies, that is. Xion glanced down to see something grey and red draped over her like a blanket, and it took several seconds for her to realize it was Roxas's new jacket. Had he left it on her?

As Xion picked up the jacket and climbed to her feet, she found the boy in question sitting on a fallen log near the remains of their fire from last night. Roxas looked up as he heard the crunch of Xion's boots on the grass. "Morning. Sleep well?"

Xion paused. Huh, now that she thought of it? "Yes, actually." She smiled as she handed him his jacket, and as he put it on Xion realized why she felt so refreshed. That was the first good, uninterrupted night's sleep that she'd had since being recompleted. She stared down at her hand, curled her fingers, and held them to her chest. "Thank you for last night, Roxas."

Roxas sputtered and turned away. "Uh, y-yeah, you're welcome. I'm glad it helped." After a moment he looked back at her. "How about some breakfast?"

"Sure," Xion said with a chuckle. Roxas scooted over a bit and she sat down next to him. "By the way, what was the jacket about?"

"Oh, I just didn't want you to get cold. When I woke up the sun hadn't risen all the way yet." Roxas paused. "I didn't go overboard, did I?"

Xion shook her head reassuringly. "No, not at all! It was nice of you."

"Well good, then." Roxas handed her one of the muffins the good fairies had given them before they left. "Don't just shove it down, but we probably should get going soon."

Xion rolled her eyes. "_You're_ telling _me_ to eat slowly?"

"Hey!"

The little clearing was filled with their laughter and continued morning chatter as they ate their breakfast. It was nothing fancy, but it was filling. When Roxas's laughing caused him to start choking on his muffin Xion quickly cast Water and conjured a clear blue orb for him to drink, but with nothing to hold it in the water eventually grew unstable and exploded all over him. It was a spell initially designed for offense, after all.

Xion had to hide her laughter as Roxas used the only thing really available to him to awkwardly dry off: his sleeping bag. As he put the wet bag down, Xion cast Aero backed by a small flame from Fire, sending hot wind his way. It finished the job, but it also messed his hair up something fierce. Roxas shot her a glare and Xion didn't try to hide her laughter; his hair was lopsided and all pointed left.

When Roxas had finished getting his hair back to its proper messy state, he glanced down at the two sleeping bags. "What do we do with these?"

Xion stood up from the log. "Well Fauna did say they'll disappear when we're done with them. I guess we can just leave them here?"

"Guess so…. Oh, I'm gonna check in on Axel before we go." Roxas reached around to his back pocket, but paused. After a moment he patted his other back pocket, then his side pockets, then he was running his hands up and down the length of his jacket. "No!"

"Roxas?"

"My Gummiphone!" Roxas whirled around and whipped his head back and forth. "Xion, do you see it? Maybe it fell out overnight–"

A screech behind Xion caught both their attention. Roxas and Xion turned to the edge of the clearing, where a short and fuzzy creature stood. It was covered in pitch black fur from head to toe, had two rabbit-like ears taller than the rest of its body, limbs as thin as twigs, two beady yellow eyes and a disproportionately large mouth filled with tiny, sharp teeth. And in its small hands it held the familiar red and yellow device.

"Is that some sort of Heartless?" Xion wondered. She was ready to summon her Keyblade at a moment's notice.

"I don't know, but it has my Gummiphone!" Roxas charged toward it and the creature screech and ran into the trees. Roxas followed it into the woods without hesitation.

"Roxas, wait up!" Xion cried as she sprinted to catch up with him.

The thin fog in the forest from yesterday was still around, which meant they lost sight of the rabbit-thing pretty quickly. That didn't stop Roxas from running in the direction of its screeching cry though, and Xion was right beside him. But as they delved deeper and deeper into the forest, the fog started getting denser and denser. Eventually the rabbit-thing's screeching had died off, and even the sounds of animals around them had halted. When Xion could see no more than a few yards around her, she came to a stop and grabbed Roxas by the wrist.

"What's up?" Roxas asked. Even with him right next to her he was still a bit blurry, like looking through a slightly fogged up window.

Xion conjured a small flame in her open palm before answering. The soft orange glow cleared up her vision of Roxas, but they were still surrounded by a wall of white. "This fog isn't natural."

Roxas looked at their surroundings and let out a quiet but concerned hum. "Maybe it is? We don't really know anything about this world." He didn't sound very certain, though.

Xion frowned at him. "Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather didn't warn us about this, though. They only warned us about–" She was cut off by a roar that shook the trees and seemed to come from every direction at once. Immediately Xion summoned Sign of Innocence and held it ready while continuing to hold the fire up for whatever extension of her field of vision she could get.

"Warned us about other fairies." Roxas finished Xion's thought for her. Oathkeeper and Oblivion were already in his hands as he stood back to back with Xion. "Do you see it?"

"It's hard to see anything in this fog... Wait." Xion squinted her eyes and peered ahead, where part of the fog was beginning to swirl around itself like a slow whirlpool. As it continue to swirl a hole opened in the fog, but it was a jagged hole. The area of fog around the hole started to bulge outward, slowly extending toward them as the hole became a more solid shape, starting to resemble a mouth with razor-sharp teeth.

"Look out!" Quickly, Xion spun halfway around and rammed her shoulder into Roxas's back. Both of them fell to the ground just as a large white dragon shot over them at unexpected speed. They narrowly avoided being devoured by it on the spot. Xion's fireball flew from her hand and pursued the dragon, but when it flew back into the wall of fog the fire continued through the woods until it dissipated, never hitting anything.

Roxas was already back on his feet and looking in every direction. "Where'd it go?!"

Xion cast another Fire spell and held it out as she searched. There was no way they shouldn't have been able to see the silhouette of something that big stalking them in the fog, but it had completely vanished. Where was it? Another roar shook the area and the dragon shot out at them again from somewhere that Xion was absolutely certain it had not been just a moment before. She narrowly avoided its wing swinging at her while Roxas attacked its side. But when his two Keyblades made contact with the dragon, it vanished – dissipated into water particles that merged back with the fog.

Roxas stared at the empty space for a good long moment before he turned to Xion and called out a warning. "It's not hiding in the fog. It _is_ the fog!"

The dragon roared once more. As if in response to Roxas's warning the fog around Xion swirled and formed together into long and dangerous claws that swiped at her. Xion quickly recalled what she had learned in her dance classes to avoid the attack, and upon recovering she held out her Keyblade and fired a bolt of light at the dragon's underbelly. Like with Roxas's attack, the dragon merged back into the fog rather than take the hit.

Xion watched as it lunged at Roxas, as Roxas dodged and retaliated, and as the dragon vanished again. This wasn't working. The fog always twisted and contorted before the dragon manifested so it was really easy to see where it was about to attack and avoid it, but by that same token the dragon always returned to the fog right before they made contact. They'd have to hit it while it was in the fog if they hoped to do anything, but how? As Roxas had pointed out, it wasn't _in_ the fog, it _was_ the fog.

Wait.

If the dragon was the fog, then attacking the fog itself would be like attacking the dragon, right? Though how to do that without harming themselves, when they were practically swimming in the fog? Xion cartwheeled away from the dragon's sweeping tail and over to Roxas. "Can you clear the fog immediately around us?"

She didn't have time to elaborate more than that in the middle of a battle, but she didn't need to. Roxas nodded. "Whatever you got planned, do it."

While holding both Oathkeeper and Oblivion tightly, Roxas simultaneously spun them in his hands and quickly pivoted around on his foot. A thin wave of wind and light shot out in a circle from him, whipping at Xion's jacket and hair while pushing at the fog and creating a circular safe space for a few yards around them. It was small, but it did its job of keeping them out of the fog.

Xion dismissed both her Keyblade and the flame she had been using to light the way. She held both arms out to her sides with her hands wide open. Thorny white bands of nothingness twisted down her arms while she pictured the necessary weapons in her mind's eye. Xion pulled her hands into fists and the nothingness began to coalesce between her fingers, taking the shape of eight yellow and blue knives, four in each hand.

The moment that the replications were completely solid, Xion hurled all but one of Larxene's knives in different directions into the mist. Seven _thunks_ told her they had all landed on something; whether that was in a tree trunk or on the ground, it didn't matter so long as they were in the mist. Now came the second part of the replication. With the image of the knives still fresh in her mind, Xion raised her arms above her head in a pose she had seen Larxene take before with her wrists crossed over each other. Electricity crackled on the eighth knife still in her hand and a bolt of lightning flashed down from the sky and struck it. Before the thunder was done echoing over the forest, Xion threw the supercharged knife into the fog.

The effect was immediate. Beyond the cloud wall they could see flashes of yellow as lightning jumped from knife to knife to knife, creating eight different points in the fog that crackled with electricity. All eight knives simultaneously released massive shocks, surging lightning all throughout the area. The smell of ozone quickly overwhelmed the forest, but the fog had cleared and the sunlight returned. In the back of her head Xion felt the replicated knives fade back into nothingness.

"Xion, that was brilliant!" Roxas exclaimed.

Xion turned to him with a grin. "Fog is just water, right? Water and electricity don't mix." Though truth be told, she was incredibly thankful it had worked as she expected it to. Though come to think of it, there was one part she'd been expecting that didn't happen. The dragon hadn't roared, not in pain or anger or anything. It was completely silent now.

Though someone did cry out in anger as she thought that, but it definitely was not that dragon. Xion summoned her Keyblade again while Roxas turned toward the voice and held his Keyblades in a combat stance. "Who's there?!"

More fog appeared through the trees, but only in a small area a few feet wide. The fog swirled together once more, forming into a dome of clouds, and then faded away to reveal a girl standing where it had once been – a very young girl at that. She didn't look like her age was even in the double digits. She wore a yellow skirt and grey shirt, but her most eye-catching feature was the bright green hair.

The girl huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you run away?!"

Xion and Roxas glanced at each other then back to the girl. "Come again?" Xion asked.

"It's a dragon! You're supposed to run away before it eats you!" She said it so matter-of-factly, like the two of them were idiots for even considering staying to fight it.

Roxas and Xion eased up their battle stances. It looked like the dragon was gone, and a little girl wasn't going to fight them no matter how rude she was. "So why didn't you run away, then?" Roxas asked.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Because it wasn't real, dummy!"

"What?"

She let out a groan and shook her head. More fog appeared behind her and formed into the dragon's head, then let out a roar. "My Mist Dragon is just a trick to keep intruders out. Intruders like you dummies!" She turned toward the dragon head and stroked its chin. With her voice lowered to imitate the dragon's, she said, "'I did good, didn't I, Miss Rydia?'" Giggling she hugged the Mist Dragon. "Yes you did, you good boy!" And with that, the fog dissipated once again.

"Rydia?" Xion asked.

"That's my name!" The girl crossed her arms, trying to look tough. "So who are you guys anyway? Are you humans? I've never seen any humans before."

Wait, what? "Does that mean you're a fairy?" Roxas asked.

Rydia stuck her tongue out and winked. "Nope!"

Again, what?

"Where are you going? Why are you out here?" For someone who was pretty bratty, she sure was asking a lot of questions. Rydia pointed at their Keyblades. "What are those things? How'd you do magic?"

"Slow down there, alright?" From the tone of his voice, Roxas was starting to get irritated.

"Come on! You're the weirdos, so you answer me!"

"_We're_ weird?" Roxas sputtered.

Xion laughed. "I guess to her we are. I mean, she said she's never seen humans before."

"And I've never seen such a little brat before."

Honestly Xion had to agree, and kind of wanted to snap back too. But she also knew Rydia was young, and if she really hadn't seen humans before, probably didn't have much social etiquette. "She's just a little kid, Roxas. And besides, I know a petty big brat myself." Roxas rolled his eyes while Xion held Sign of Innocence up to show Rydia. "These are called Keyblades, they're special magical swords we have. We were going to the Forbidden Mountain so our Keyblades could help with some trouble up there, but–"

A high-pitched screech resounded through the trees. Roxas was immediately on the lookout again. After he whipped his head back and forth, he caught sight of the source: that little black rabbit-thing clutching a familiar red and yellow object tightly in its tiny hands. "That's the thing that stole my Gummiphone!"

The rabbit-thing screeched again and took off running, and Roxas gave chase immediately. "Roxas!" Xion called after him, but he was already vanishing between the trees. With a sigh, Xion turned to Rydia. "That little thing stole something important to us, so we need it back before we can go to the Forbidden Mountain."

"Oh, that's a spriggan!" Rydia said simply. "They collect stuff. They live in caves beneath the woods. I can show you the way!"

"Seriously?"

"Xion!" Roxas ran back toward the two of them and hurriedly motioned over his shoulder. "Aren't you coming?"

Xion pointed over at Rydia. "Rydia says she can lead us to the spriggan's home."

"Spriggan?" Roxas raised his eyebrow and looked down at Rydia. "What's the catch?"

Rydia put her hands on her hips and matched him with a glare, the height difference not bothering her one bit. "You gotta answer all my questions and not be a brat about it!"

Roxas ran his hand down his face and took in a breath. "Okay then. Fair enough." He held a hand out toward the woods. "Lead the way."

With her head held high, Rydia ran in the direction of the spriggan. "Follow me, dummies!"

Xion cast Roxas a sympathetic glance as he cringed. "This girl is going to be the death of me." The two of them started running and Roxas called ahead. "We're coming, Rydia."

**x-x-x**

On a cliff nestled among the foothills of the Forbidden Mountain, two figures in black coats looked out over the forest. The man looked back at his female companion, who was tossing a thumb drive up and down in her hand. She was irritated that they were still here and he was sympathetic to that, but it seemed that his decision to linger in this world a little longer had proven right.

"You saw that lightning strike, didn't you?" he asked over his shoulder.

The woman caught the thumb drive in her fist from midair. She let out an _ugh_ under her breath and rolled her eyes. "Please. How could I of all people have possibly missed it?"

He chuckled. She was right, of course. Even with everything that had changed about them recently, that much was still true. "It would seem that our little recusants have finally caught on to what's going on. It was only a matter of time until that happened."

"So should we run interference? I'm getting antsy just sitting around here."

"Interfere, yes; but us, no. I would really rather not have them learn who we are just yet." The man snapped his fingers. Several white wisps manifested in response, then spun around and turned into Nobodies. Without looking at them the man pointed out into the forest. "Welcome the Keyblade wielders to this world. Do not let them reach the Keyhole."

The Nobodies gave only slight nods as signs of acknowledgment, and then vanished as quickly as they had arrived. The man turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey." His seated companion grabbed him by the wrist as he walked past her, stopping him mid-step. "Are you really okay with this? The Flood of Light putting this world to sleep, I mean. You said this is your home, didn't you?"

The man frowned. His fingers lightly brushed his chest over his heart. "I would be lying if I said there wasn't guilt and remorse, that much is true. But…"

"But?" There was a tone in her voice that sounded almost foreign coming from her: concern.

The man tugged his wrist out of her grip. He felt her fingers linger on his sleeve before she finally relented and let go. "But any world that I have to live in alone is no home of mine." He continued walking, and after a moment heard her stand up to join him as they moved through a field of flowers toward the Forbidden Mountain. "It will all work out in the end. She'll come back, and the two of us can be together again."

* * *

_For the unfamiliar, Rydia comes from Final Fantasy 4 and spriggans are from Final Fantasy 14._


	10. Daughter of the Forest

**Chapter 10: Daughter of the Forest**

The further they moved through the woods of Enchanted Dominion, the less familiar the land became. Roxas and Xion were used to temperate forests, not only from Twilight Town's but also from missions to Wonderland's twisted forest or the dark woods around Beast's Castle. This wasn't like any of those, though. Gradually the terrain had become marsh-like as the ground beneath their feet slowly gave way to shallow water. Roxas, Xion, and Rydia pushed tall reeds aside as they moved, the sounds of crunching twigs and leaves beneath their feet replaced with the _squish_-_squish_ of mud. Croaking frogs and buzzing flies could be heard in every direction. Beside Roxas Xion swatted a mosquito that had landed on her bare arm.

They had been traveling for some time now. According to Xion's own Gummiphone it was around noon, and Roxas wasn't any less impatient than he had been that morning. It wasn't just because of this area being harder to travel in – Rydia definitely wasn't helping his mood. The girl hadn't let up in either her endless questions or bratty personality. Roxas had wanted to snap at her more than once, but kept biting his tongue; she _was_ helping them, after all. That didn't make her any less obnoxious, though.

Rydia trotted in front of Roxas and Xion, but facing them and walking backwards. She held her arms out as she balanced on an old, fallen log. "Is it true humans eat ice? What are cities like? Do you live in a castle?" She had been asking questions like that for hours.

"I think you mean ice _cream, _they're crowded and loud, and not anymore but we used to." Xion's answers were short and, not that Rydia was socially aware enough to notice, kind of snippy. Roxas could tell she was irritated with Rydia, too; she was just better at hiding it than him.

Rydia's eyes lit up brightly at that last answer. She ran over to Xion and clung to her tightly as they moved through the marsh. "Really?! Do you know a princess? Are _you_ a princess?!"

"I'm not," Xion said in a strained voice while slowly trying to get Rydia to let go of her. "But I guess technically I do know one." If princesses of heart counted, anyway.

Rydia started bouncing up and down, and practically tugged Xion off her feet with excitement. "Can you introduce me?! Come on, I'm helping you out! Introduce me! Introduce meeeee!"

Roxas had had enough of this kid. "Rydia." She stopped on a dime and shot a glare at him. "Are you sure this is the way that spriggan went?"

Rydia let out an over-the-top groan and crossed her arms. "Yes, I'm sure. The spriggans live in caves in the fairy moors. Which you'd know if you weren't a dummy, dummy."

"Fairy moors?"

Rydia rolled her eyes. "The most enchanted part of Enchanted Dominion!"

Roxas looked out over the reeds and wrinkled his nose at some stench that wafted by. Down by his feet a frog hopped across the muddy pathway. "We're in a marsh, Rydia."

"A marsh on the way to the moors!" She leaned forward and pointed at her ear. "Are you deaf or something?"

Xion put a hand on Rydia's shoulder. "How about you keep leading us, okay?"

Rydia and Roxas shared one last look and then Rydia relented. "Okay, come on." She parted some of the reeds and revealed a branch in the path they'd been walking, then made her way down it with Roxas and Xion following.

Roxas couldn't help but chuckle at the exhaustion that overtook Xion's face as soon as Rydia's back was turn. "A little overwhelmed?"

Xion blew at her bangs. "Is it that obvious? I'm trying to be patient with her but she's really testing me."

"You're handling it better than I am. I can admit she's really ticking me off."

"Yeah, about that. Why are you so irritated today?"

Roxas glanced at Xion, who was watching him with a worried expression. What kind of question was that? "Well on top of an annoying little kid? My Gummiphone was stolen, Xion."

Xion raised an eyebrow. "It's just a phone, Roxas." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her own Gummiphone, identical in every way to his. "And I have one too. You know I have no problem helping to get yours back, but what's the big deal?"

Roxas frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets. Realistically, Xion was right: what _was_ the big deal? They didn't need two Gummiphones when one would suffice. And yet he was so angry that he had it taken from him. Why? Why was it such a problem for Roxas to have something of his taken?

…Oh.

"I guess because it was mine," Roxas admitted, as much to himself as to Xion. Her face softened and Roxas continued. "So much of my life has been borrowed from someone else or pushed on me without a choice. Sometimes both. Before I didn't have very much that I could call my own, and what I did was taken from me: you, Axel, Hayner, Pence, and Olette…" Roxas looked ahead to see if Rydia was eavesdropping on them, then turned back to Xion. "When I got everyone back – when I got _you_ back – I was finally able to make a life of my own, with things and people I _chose_ to have and be close to."

Xion was silent for a few long moments, with nothing but the sound of their footsteps in the mud. What was she thinking about? Her expression was unreadable. When Roxas was just about to ask her, she finally spoke up.

"So it's not really about the phone itself." Xion grabbed Roxas's wrist and put her Gummiphone in his hand. "Me doing this doesn't solve your problem. It's about what the phone represents."

Roxas hefted the phone in his hand, then returned it to Xion. "Yeah, you worded it better than I could. I guess having something stolen from me hits a little too close to home, even if it's something as silly as my phone, because it's still mine."

Xion's lips quirked up into a gentle smile. "And that's totally understandable, Roxas. Like you said, you've had stuff taken from you before. I get it now; I just needed to hear it." She pocketed her phone and, without missing a beat, hooked her arm around Roxas's. "And if there's one thing you don't ever need to worry about losing, it's me."

Roxas snickered and lightly flicked Xion in the forehead. "Sure thing. I couldn't get rid of you even if I tried."

"Hey!"

From a few yards ahead, Rydia called over to them. "If you two are done making kissy noises at each other, we're here!"

"We're coming, Rydia!" With her arm still hooked in Roxas's Xion ran on ahead, dragging him along. The mud beneath their feet gave way to an old but preserved plank bridge, the shallow brown water grew deeper and clearer, and the reeds that had been surrounding them for the last hour or two vanished to reveal a breathtaking sight.

Bright sunlight danced on the surface of a giant lake surrounded by tree-covered hills and fields of colorful flours. Shimmering waterfalls cascaded down cliffs of white stone. Bizarre creatures of extravagant shapes and colors were all around them; a group of animals that Roxas could only describe as flying manta rays passed overhead, and on the shore of the lake an elephant-like creature that Rydia called a 'shoopuf' blew a jet of water out of its long trunk. It wasn't just animals, either. Pixies, spriggans, and other vaguely humanoid shapes were all over the place chatting and just going about their days. Some eyes the newcomers with curiosity.

Once they reached the end of the bridge and came ashore, Roxas had to pick his jaw up off the ground. "Are these the uh, fairy moors?"

Rydia smiled smugly and nodded. "Yup! And that spriggan den should be right around here–" She paused looked over to the side, at a large figure approaching them from another plank bridge. Rydia smiled and waved. "Oh! Quina!"

The person Rydia had greeted was…quite a sight, to put it lightly. He – she? – _they_ were large and round, dressed in pink with a white apron and chef's hat on top of that. Their only exposed skin was their face, which was a stark and unblemished white. Their eyes were a red pattern resembling clown makeup, with white pupils. And their most striking feature was the extremely wide grin, from which hung an exaggeratedly long tongue that stretched down to their round belly.

"Rydia!" Somehow they managed to speak even with their tongue hanging out. They looked behind the little girl to Xion and Roxas. "Who they? I can eat?" What?!

Rydia cackled. "No, I think they'd give you indigestion."

"Oh. I eat later then, maybe."

"Yeah, maybe after they've been in the sun for a while or something."

"Raw meat not good."

Well this was an exceedingly uncomfortable conversation, and Roxas wasn't entirely sure if they were joking or not. This Quina person certainly looked like they could eat him if they tried. Xion crouched down beside Rydia. "Rydia, aren't you going to introduce us? Your friend sure has an uh, interesting appearance."

"Huh? What, haven't you ever seen a qu before? Sorry Quina, these two don't seem to know _anything_."

"Maybe if you'd explain first thing," Roxas grumbled under his breath. Rydia didn't seem to hear him.

"Quina, these are Roxas and Xion. Dummies, this is Quina Quen! They're a qu, and they helped raise me!"

"Raise you?" Xion looked between Rydia and Quina curiously.

Quina nodded excitedly. "Yup! Made lots of yummy foods for Rydia to grow up big and strong like fairy kids!"

"Oh! Speaking of, Quina, where is everyone?"

"They waiting for Rydia by the beach."

"Yay! Okay!" Rydia ran off without a second thought, charging down the shore at top speed toward a small crowd of pixies, gremlins, and spriggans.

"Wait, Rydia! What about Roxas's phone?!" But Xion's call fell on deaf ears as Rydia started playing with those fairy children. She certainly stood out from the group physically, but blended into their play so naturally. Like she'd been with them her whole life.

Roxas groaned and rested a hand on his hip. "What is that girl's deal?" He watched her play for a minute longer, then turned around – and found himself face-to-tongue with Quina. Shocked, he jumped back and had to resist the urge to summon his Keyblades. "Gah! Uh, hi there."

Quina looked between Roxas and Xion. "You two humans? Friends of Rydia?"

"I don't know about friends, but the first part's right," Xion said. "Are we the first humans you've seen?"

Quina stared silently. Their face was completely unreadable, and seemingly like that at all times. Roxas hadn't even seen them blink yet. "Of course not," Quina said after a little while. "Rydia human too."

"Wait, she is?" She had said she wasn't a fairy, but then what were all of her questions for? Xion turned to look at the green-haired girl playing with the fairies in the shallows of the lake. A shoopuf rained water down on them from its trunk. Geeze, she could be an annoying brat of a kid, but right now she seemed like any other little girl having a fun day out with her friends.

Roxas scratched his head. "But didn't she say you raised her?"

Quina shook their head, their tongue swaying back and forth with the motion. "All raised her, communal. Fairies found Rydia seven years ago as baby. But baby no good for eat, so look after her instead."

"Oh, so that's why she didn't know anything about people– or uh, about humans. Cities and stuff, I mean."

"And why she's not very…social," Xion said with a laugh. "Rydia's really spent her whole life here in these moors? But we know some fairies who live like humans do."

"Flora, Fauna, Merryweather?" At Xion's nod, Quina shrugged. "They good fairies, but they also different fairies. Lived as humans to raise human princess, then like it and stay that way. Not like us. Left moors behind."

"Oh… Not the norm, huh?" Roxas scratched his head again then looked up at the horizon, where the Forbidden Mountain was still visible in the distance, albeit further than he'd have liked. They had really gone off-course while pursuing that spriggan. But seeing that mountain did give him another thought. "Then what about Malefi–"

Before the witch's name was even passed his lips Quina cut him off with a loud screech. Some of the other fairies around turned to look at whatever it was that had upset the qu so much. "Not say name!" Quina shouted, launching spittle at Roxas's face as they did so. "Evil witch! Bad fairy!"

Roxas held his hands up to try and calm Quina down. "Okay, okay, I got it. I won't say her name again." He looked around them. Most of the fairies had gone back to their own business, but some still lingered on him with a glare.

"I take it that Ma– Um, that she isn't welcome here?" Xion asked.

"She live here once, long, long time ago." Quina made a noise somewhere between spitting and grunting. "But always wicked and cruel. Kicked her out when I was just little qu. Should have done worse. She ruin this world to darkness."

Oh, an opening to turn the conversation. "Speaking of that. We're actually here to make sure something else doesn't ruin this world." Roxas looked back to Rydia. "Quina, do you think you could get Rydia to come back to us? She was helping us find something of ours that a spriggan stole, and we really need to hurry because we need to stop the thing we came to stop before it's too late."

Once more Quina stared at the two of them silently and emotionlessly for a minute. "Not to hurt Rydia?" Roxas had a feeling that if Quina could squint their eyes, they would be.

Xion nodded. "I promise she'll stay safe with us. She's just going to show us to a spriggan den and then the two of us will be on our way."

"Okay…" Quina turned toward the playing children. "Rydia! Come help dummies!" Roxas winced at Quina calling them by Rydia's favorite name, but beside him Xion couldn't help but let out an exasperated laugh.

"They're still here?" Rydia called back over.

"You promised you'd help us find my Gummiphone, you brat!" Roxas snapped back at her.

"Oh, yeah. Right. That spriggan. Fiiiine, I'm coming!" Rydia waved goodbye to her friends and hurried on over to them. "Quina, I'll be right back!"

"Bring yummy foods this time, Rydia. I hungry." Quina stared at Roxas with saliva dripping down their tongue, and he suppressed a shudder.

Rydia led them across a field of flowers into a forested section of the moors. At the base of an oak tree was a large hole, large enough for them to crouch through. Inside was an angled tunnel running underground into a chamber that Roxas and Xion could just make out from the surface. "This is the spriggan den?"

"Yup! On my honor this is where your weird thingy was taken."

Well, for all her attitude they didn't really have a reason to distrust her. Xion conjured a flame in her open palm and moved into the tunnel first, with Roxas and Rydia close behind. The main chamber of this den was surprisingly well-lit, due to odd gemstones embedded in the walls that gave off a soft glow. A pile of leaves and grass seemed to serve as the resident spriggan's bed, and a pile of treasures and trinkets took up nearly a third of the room. As for the thieving little fairy itself, there was no sign of it; lucky thing, it would get off easy. Their prize was certainly there though. Sitting among the pile of stolen goods was Roxas's Gummiphone. He picked it up with a grin and examined it in the light of the glowing stones. Not a scratch, thankfully. And no missed calls either, not that he was expecting any – if anyone hadn't been able to contact him they'd know to just call Xion, and her phone hadn't rang at all today. Roxas pocketed his phone and stood back up.

"You got your thing, so can I go back to my friends now?" Rydia asked.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. And, uh…thanks, Rydia. You really did help us out."

Sputtering, Rydia crossed her arms and looked away. Was that a blush creeping on her cheeks, or a trick of the dim light? "I-I'll just head out then! Dummy!" She turned around and hurried up the slanted tunnel.

Xion smiled at Roxas as the two of them followed Rydia at a slower pace. "With that detour done, ready to head to the Keyhole?"

"Yeah. Hopefully things didn't get too out of control while we've been messing around."

Xion poked him in the side with a chuckle. "This wouldn't have happened if you kept a better eye on your things."

Roxas laughed and shoved her shoulder. "Maybe next time I'll let you hold my Gummiphone, if you're so organized." Xion's reply was a smug grin as she raised her chin up proudly. But their banter was cut off by a terrified screech from outside, and the two didn't even need to share a look with each other before they summoned their Keyblades and hurried the rest of the way to the exit.

"Rydia, what is it?!" Roxas shouted when he leaped out of the hole in the ground. She didn't answer, but she didn't need to. The green-haired girl was surrounded by swaying silver-white forms. Dusks! What were they doing here? One Dusk noticed Roxas and Xion as soon as they breached the surface, and the others did soon after. Their bodies writhed, and they charged.

A blast of Watera from Xion sent the first Dusk that came at them flying. Roxas knocked two more aside then slashed through the air and sent waves of gold and blue light flying out from his Keyblades. It made quick work of the remaining few Dusks.

"Rydia, get out of here!" Xion called.

Rydia's eyes went wide and she pointed behind the two of them. "Look out!"

Roxas turned around too late to heed her warning and just in time to make out the figure of a Dancer before it kicked him in the face. He felt the warmth of a Cure spell from Xion wash over him before he even hit the ground, and as he climbed back to his feet more Nobodies began to manifest around the three of them. Dancers and Reapers, fitting for this world's aesthetics. Whoever was commanding these Nobodies sure seemed to have a sense of humor.

Roxas leaned back to avoid the slice of a Reaper's scythe while Xion dodged a Dancer's kicks and spins with dancelike motions of her own. Her Keyblade sliced across the feminine Nobody's chest and sent it colliding with the Reaper that had been harrowing Roxas, then Roxas finished the job and pierced both of them through the middle.

Fireballs flew past Roxas's head as Xion cast spell after spell at a pair of Reapers that had wrapped themselves in their defensible bud forms. But that was no match for her flames and they went down without knowing what hit them. Roxas spied a Dancer making its way to Rydia and tossed Oathkeeper its way, then vanished into particles of light. When Oathkeeper made contact with the Nobody the particles recombined into Roxas and he kicked the Dancer aside followed by striking it with both Keyblades at once.

"Xion, behind you!"

Xion took Roxas's words and whirled around just in time to parry another Reaper's attack. She pushed against its scythe with Sign of Innocence and successfully knocked it off balance, then raised her free hand up and cast Thunder. A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and hit the Nobody dead-on, then while it was stunned with sparks coursing over its body Xion charged her Keyblade with a magical aura and drove the edge down into the Nobody's chest.

One Dancer left. Roxas darted toward it and jumped over it before it could kick him, but it grabbed him by the wrist. Roxas was whipped around violently by the Nobody, nearly losing his grip on his Keyblades, when a Blizzard spell struck it in its back. The Nobody released its grip and Roxas was sent tumbling through the air, but he managed to right himself. Spinning both Oathkeeper and Oblivion in front of him, he sent two spiraling bolts of light forward and hit the Dancer dead-on.

With the Nobodies gone, Xion and Roxas stopped to catch their breaths. Roxas looked over to Rydia, who was shaking in place with her eyes wide. "Don't worry, you're safe with us."

Rydia opened her mouth, but no words came out. After swallowing she finally managed to speak in a shaking voice. "W-What were those?"

"They're called Nobodies," Xion said. "A better question is: why are they here?" She dismissed her Keyblade and looked off to the horizon, eyeing the Forbidden Mountain in the distance.

**x-x-x**

There may not have been any humans around as they fought the Nobodies, but that didn't mean the moors were lifeless. He had first seen them shortly after the fog cleared, and thought it odd that humans would be this deep in the forest, so far from the castle. They had been a puzzle worth pursuing, and so he had quietly followed them on their hunt for that spriggan. His mistress had commanded him to watch over this world in her absence, after all. He followed from just out of their sight for the better part of the day, at some points growing bored or uncertain if they were worth it, but reassuring himself by keeping a close eye on the clothes they wore. There was no mistaking those three bumbling fairies' handiwork, and they didn't give out those magical garments to just anyone.

And eventually his patience and perseverance paid off. He couldn't very well follow them into the spriggan's den without being seen, but when they emerged and began battling the white husks… Well, the all too familiar weapons they summoned had proven his suspicions right. Wasting no time, the raven lifted from his perch on the branches above the Keyblade wielders and hurried off toward his home.

As Diablo flew over the forest the trees below him began to thin and the sky above him began to darken. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the derelict castle atop the rocky peak that was his destination: the Forbidden Mountain. Although Maleficent had left Enchanted Dominion long ago, her old base of operations was far from empty. Diablo soared over the crumbling stone of the outer walls then descended on the keep, flying through the open windows of the throne room with a caw that echoed off the walls. He didn't catch any attention despite that echo, though; several of the inhabitants of the castle sat in the center of the large round chamber, unaware of their visitor and playing a game with cards and dice. After perching on an arm of his mistress's throne, Diablo sighed and let out another, louder caw. That time he got the reaction he wanted: the goons jumped to attention, their dice and cards scattering about as they stood up straight and saluted.

"Diablo! Uhh, welcome back!" one of the piglike soldiers said in his buffoonish voice. "Anything to report, sir?"

These goons being so dumb was a double edged sword. On the one hand they didn't have the self-respect to be insulted at Maleficent leaving a raven in charge, but on the other hand they didn't have the tact to do much but stand guard and Diablo often had to handle everything himself. But this was something he couldn't do alone, he was after all only a bird. The goons would have to step up.

Diablo gestured up to the window and cawed again. The goons all turned to look, and as they did so Diablo hopped off the armrest and behind the throne to grab something Maleficent had left behind.

The pig turned back toward Diablo and scratched his head. "Do the windows need cleanin'?"

Diablo groaned and dropped the object from his beak. By all that was evil, they were slow. He took to the air and perched on the windowsill then pointed outward again. Some of the goons muttered amongst themselves while the pig rubbed his chin. Finally, he smiled. "Oh, somethin' in the forest!"

Diablo nodded, and the goons nodded with him, proud of themselves for figuring it out. Diablo returned to his prize behind the throne and slowly pulled them out by his beak: a pair of enchanted manacles, which would nullify any and all magic that the person who wore them attempted to cast. Maleficent had left them behind just in case a Keyblade wielder arrived in her absence, and now the day had finally come.

A gremlin-like goon recognized them first. "Hey, those are the magic chains!" Voices of agreement rose up around him.

Diablo nodded once again and another round of proud smiles lit up the goons' faces; Diablo rolled his eyes. He tossed the manacles out onto the floor of the throne room, in front of the group. They stared at them for a good long while and Diablo was about to caw in irritation, but the piglike one spoke up again. "Hey, we was supposed to use those for Keyblade wielders…"

"Yeah, yeah," said another goon.

"…and if Diablo is givin' 'em to us…"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Then there's a Keyblade wielder in the woods!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Diablo cawed excitedly and angered cries rose up among the goons. They ran to the far wall where their spears, axes, and bows were resting, and Diablo began circling in the air above them. The pig held up the anti-magic manacles and shook them vigorously, the chain rattling above the uproar. "Don't worry, Diablo! We'll get that Keyblade wielder, we will!"

With the pig at the lead, the goons charged out of the throne room. Diablo perched on the windowsill and watched as they made their way out of the castle entirely, down the Forbidden Mountain and into the woods. He grinned as best as a raven could. Those wielders would make a magnificent prize when Maleficent returned, indeed.

* * *

_The live-action Maleficent was a bad movie but I did like the design of the moors and fairies from it, so I decided to include them in Enchanted Dominion._

_I apologize for the wait on this chapter being longer than previous ones. I had a serious case of writer's block while working on it, and KH3's critical mode coming out didn't help. The last section with Diablo was actually written earlier than anything else here, because I knew how I wanted the chapter to end but not what most of the meat of it would be._


	11. The Forbidden Mountain

**Chapter 11: The Forbidden Mountain**

"Roxas! Xion! Help!"

"Rydia, hang on!"

Xion grit her teeth as she ran at top speed with Keyblade in hand. Just their luck: as soon as they took care of the Nobodies, something else arrived. They had stopped to take a rest at the moors before continuing on to the Forbidden Mountain and the Keyhole when a small army of _things_ had come barreling out of the marsh. Xion didn't even know how to describe them. They were short and grotesque, and they had charged straight at Rydia with a pair of odd-looking manacles. Everyone was so surprised by the intrusion that they hadn't even been able to react in time before Rydia's hands were chained up and she was being carried off by the odd goons. Needless to say, Roxas and Xion were immediately in pursuit.

Twin wheels of flame flew through the air in pursuit of the kidnappers: Lea's chakrams, replicated by Xion. They burned down the reeds in their path, creating a scorched pathway through the marsh. While the goons' were slowed down as they had to push their way through the reeds, Roxas and Xion could run along the burnt down path uninterrupted. They caught up to the goons quickly, just in time to see the chakrams make contact. They pierced two goons, but to the kids' surprise the goons _exploded_ when the weapons hit them. The chakrams' orange flames mixed with a green fire that was released upon the goons' deaths; whatever these creatures were, it was apparent they were magical in nature. But the death of those two goons didn't stop or even slow down the mob as they continued to carry the screaming, struggling Rydia away.

"Get back here!" Roxas tossed Oathkeeper as hard as he could. It sailed over the mob and landed teeth-first in the muddy ground, and then Roxas's body evaporated into particles of light that swiftly moved to the Keyblade where he became corporeal once again. But as he prepared himself to face the oncoming mob, a handful of vulture-like goons at the head of the group shot arrows that glowed black with the power of darkness at Roxas. He deflected some, but a second volley came immedaitely after that Roxas hadn't been expecting.

Roxas grunted in pain and dismissed Oathkeeper. With his hand free he gripped at his arm where the arrows had pierced him. They must have been made of the same sort of magic fueling the goons because they quickly dissolved into green embers, but the wounds they made stayed behind. And as Roxas dealt with the wounds the mob continued its charge uninterrupted. Just before they would have run into Roxas they made a sharp turn and ran off into the reeds. With a grimace, Roxas pointed Oblivion after their retreating form. His grip shook since it was his injured arm, but he held it as steady as he could and then launched a bolt of blue light off into the reeds in the direction they'd run. A moment passed before he saw a flash of green. Well he got at least one of them, that had to count for something.

"Roxas!" Xion hurried over to him, and in one swift motion dismissed her Keyblade, grabbed his arm, and pulled it toward her. Despite Roxas pulling his arm back she held tight and pulled his sleeve up, revealing the two wounds from the arrows. In addition to the wounds being open and actively bleeding, Roxas's skin was also darker around them as if he had been bruised. Xion took in a sharp breath through her teeth and felt her stomach drop.

"Xion, Rydia is–"

"Quiet!" Xion snapped, and Roxas wisely complied. "Those arrows had some sort of magic on them. Libra." As the words passed her lips magic filled Xion's body and then concentrated in her head. A soft glow lit up her eyes. She examined Roxas's wounds closely, peering at them as the Libra spell worked its magic. "Bind status. If you had tried to chase them you wouldn't have been able to." Xion looked up at Roxas's face as the glow faded from her eyes.

Roxas nodded and pulled his arm away from Xion. "Well okay, then let me–"

Xion grabbed his hand in hers. "Esuna–"

"Xion!" Xion shot him a glare. Why was he cutting her spell short? They didn't have time to mess around! He pulled his hand away again, slower this time, and reached for his pocket. "Stop using up all your magic on me when we still need to save Rydia. I have a panacea to fix this. You go after them before they get away, and I'll catch up."

Embarrassment washed over Xion; she felt her face heating up. "Oh, uh. Right. Hurry up, then." She awkwardly took a step back and called on her Keyblade once more, then turned in the direction the goons had run off and cast Fira, sending out a fireball that burned another path through the reeds. Xion spared one more glance at Roxas as he dug through his pockets, then took off after the mob at top speed.

She finally came to the end of the marsh and broke through a wall of reeds to find herself on a small field where swamp met forest. There up ahead was the mob, holding Rydia, and facing a surprising but familiar sight: a black and purple hole in the world, a dark corridor.

Rydia caught sight of Xion at the grass's edge. "Xion!" Her cry for help caught the attention of more goons, who snorted and snarled at the sight of the black-haired girl. More of the vulture ones parted from the group and took aim with their arrows. Like Roxas had she knocked away several with her Keyblade, but when the second volley just like it had for him she was expecting it. Clearly these goons weren't smart enough to change up their tactics.

If they wanted to play with arrows, then Xion would play their game. "Freeze!" Three Blizzard spells sent three razor-sharp icicles at the archers, piercing them one after another. But even though their comrades perished on the spot, the rest of the goons – about half of their original number now – seemed unphased. They turned away from Xion and began marching off toward the corridor.

Xion's heart raced. "Oh no! Rydia!"

"Xion! Help!" Rydia screeched.

Shadows rose up to swallow Rydia and the goons. Xion dashed at top speed toward them, her hand stretched out. Rydia, too, tried desperately to reach for Xion. But just before Xion reached the corridor one last arrow flew out from the mob. She'd been so focused on reaching Rydia that it caught her by surprise and she wasn't able to dodge or block it. Xion cried out as a sharp pain struck her in the abdomen. Though the arrow faded away its curse didn't. Xion's legs locked up, her feet gave out, and she tumbled face-first into the grass.

"XION!"

"Rydia!" Xion reached out. She climbed to her feet, but her legs felt numb. Her feet wouldn't budge. _Bind…_ Xion clutched at her shirt and felt magic flow through her. "Esuna!" The status cleared away and she broke into a run once more… but too late. Rydia and the goons vanished into the darkness. "RYDIA!"

"Xion!" Roxas jumped out of the reeds and hurried over to her side with a potion. Xion quickly downed it and felt the pain from the arrow fade away just as its magic had, but that didn't help the pain in her heart.

"Roxas, Rydia!" Xion pointed to where the last remnants of the corridor of darkness were. It vanished just in time for him to see the signature color scheme and know what he was looking at.

Roxas gasped, and for the first time seemed to realize that Rydia and the goons weren't with them. "Damn it!" He slashed his Keyblades across the trunk of a nearby tree, desperate to take his anger out on something.

"She's just a little girl… What do they even want with her?" Xion felt absolutely horrible. She felt like she was going to throw up, it was as if her nightmares were plaguing her all over again. They couldn't go back to the moors like this, that wasn't even a possibility. They let Quina down. And worst of all? "Roxas, I'm pretty sure they worked for Maleficent. I mean, there was green fire and the power of darkness."

Roxas had been slashing at the tree as Xion thought and spoke, but now he finally stopped. He breathed heavily. "…Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. They have to be her goons that the good fairies mentioned."

"Then there's only one place that dark corridor could have gone." Xion looked up, above the tree line and out on the horizon. The Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent's base of operations – and the place they were headed anyway. It seemed fate was giving them a bit of a helping hand.

Roxas held out both his Keyblades. "We need to hurry. I know Aqua warned us about using these in a world because if someone saw them it would disrupt the order, but…"

But Xion shook her head to push aside his concerns. "No, I agree. We need to get their fast. Before something happens."

As one the two tossed their Keyblades into the sky. At the height of the weapons' ascension there was a brilliant flash, and what came back down to them weren't the Keyblades but a pair of vehicles instead. With nothing further said between them, Roxas and Xion quickly climbed aboard their Keyblade Gliders and took off toward the ominous peak in the distance.

**x-x-x**

The dark corridor opened in the dilapidated throne room of the abandoned castle atop the Forbidden Mountain. On the arm of Maleficent's throne, Diablo perked his head up at the sight. The first goon to emerge was their self-styled leader, the piglike one. He saluted Diablo and then stamped the butt of his axe on the floor.

"Diablo, we have returned!" he said in his snorting voice. "We bring the prisoner you asked: a Keyblade wielder for Maleficent!" The goon stepped aside and allowed the rest of them to come out of the corridor. Diablo narrowed his eyes; there was significantly less of them now than when they left. Well, that was to be expected if they had to fight Keyblade wielders. It was a miracle any succeeded at all.

But as the last of the goons emerged from the darkness with their prisoner, Diablo's eyes shot wide open. Those idiots, they couldn't be trusted to do anything! That wasn't either of the Keyblade wielders, it was the fairy child who accompanied them! Diablo let out a loud squawk of disapproval, but curse this language barrier – nothing was getting across to the goons. They just stood there in front of the throne, some awkwardly trying to figure out what Diablo was shouting about and some proud of their 'job well done'. Eventually Diablo let out a groan and slumped forward, his chin wresting on the stone of Maleficent's throne.

"You must be tired from all that bossin' around you've been doin'," the piglike goon said. "We'll go take our prisoner to the dungeons. You get a good rest, Diablo."

The goons marched off with the girl struggling and calling for help all the way. Help… Diablo groaned again. Yes, there was no way the goons could have taken out two Keyblade wielders. They'd assuredly be coming to rescue the girl, and Diablo did not want to be here when they did. He'd better get out while he still can…it's not like anyone would miss those worthless minions anyway. Diablo climbed back to his feet and took off, soaring through the window and far away from the Forbidden Mountain.

And all the while, Diablo was unaware of his visitor: a man in black who had been watching from behind one of the broken pillars that were dotted around the circumference of the room.

The hooded man slipped out from his hiding place and made his way up the crumbling stairs to Maleficent's throne. He approached the extravagant stone seat and pushed with all his might, slowly but surely shoving it out of the way. With one last grunt, he toppled the throne over. It crashed to the ground with a loud _SMASH_ that echoed around him, and its top half broke off and fell to the lower level of the throne room. But that wasn't his goal; his goal was what was behind the chair.

On the wall that had previously been hidden behind the throne was a familiar shape, a Keyhole. The outline glowed bright blue, and shimmering stars poured forth from the interior. The Flood of Light was well on its way to casting this world into the realm of sleep, and very soon the light pouring forth from the Keyhole would be powerful enough to keep him, someone who was not a Nobody, unable to approach it. But that was fine as long as the flood came to fruition. If everything went according to plan, then the first of the seven necessary worlds would be put to slumber.

**x-x-x**

The Gliders flew close to the rocks as Roxas and Xion ascended Forbidden Mountain, careful to not be seen by any sentries up at Maleficent's castle. Upon reaching the mountain's peak they turned at a ninety degree angle and flew straight up the castle walls, then higher still. The Gliders vanished in midair and Roxas and Xion dropped down onto the battlements. Before they had even landed Roxas's Keyblades were already in his hands.

He didn't wait a second before he was running off to who-knows-where. "Let's go get Rydia."

"Roxas, wait!" Xion grabbed the hood of his jacket, tugging him back. He let out a yelp of surprise and Xion slapped his hand over his mouth. "Sshh!"

When Xion removed her hand, Roxas whispered harshly to her. "What's the big idea?"

"Look before you leap." Xion pointed down into the courtyard below them, where countless numbers of Maleficent's goons patrolled. She moved her hand and pointed to another wall across from them, where even more guards stood. "There's so many of them." Individually they went down easily sure, but with these numbers alerting one would alert all the others and then it'd be a death of a thousand cuts. "This is going to take finesse, not brawn."

Roxas's Keyblades vanished from his grip. "What do you have in mind then?"

"An old standby." Xion pulled her hood over her head and then zipped up her jacket to keep any free-flowing fabric to a minimum. "You still know how to get around unseen, right?" She turned toward him and zipped up his own jacket too.

"Oh, right. Got it." Roxas pulled his hood over his head too. An old standby indeed; as part of their training in the old Organization they'd learned stealth techniques, how to move around without being seen or heard. The Organization had been a covert operation, after all. More than once Roxas had been sent on missions involving tailing a target from just out of sight, or sneaking around somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Though more than once he'd screwed it up, too. He may have been a bit rusty, but it was time to put that training to the test once again.

"Follow me," Xion said and she ran across the wall of the castle, careful to keep her footsteps light. Roxas was right behind her, his steps in time with her own. Where could they be keeping Rydia? That was the question. A dungeon? They didn't know the layout of this castle though, so that could be anywhere. Xion silently dropped off the wall and landed on a ledge hidden in the shadows. Roxas joined her a moment later.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Hidden in the shadows as they were, Xion could just make out a half-smile on Roxas's face.

"What, and you do?" Xion pointed below them, to a goon that was standing in front of a doorway. "Let's try this way first. We just need to find a way to distract or incapacitate the guard without bringing the whole castle down on us."

Roxas brought a hand up to his chin and hummed softly in thought. And when Xion was just about to ask him what he was planning he said, "I've got an idea." Oblivion appeared in his hand.

"Roxas, don't attack him!"

"Don't worry, I'm not." Roxas lifted Oblivion over his shoulder and then tossed it as hard as he could out into the castle courtyard. The black Keyblade was almost invisible against the dark stone and sky, and Xion quickly lost sight of it. She heard it land, though – it clattered loudly against the stone somewhere across the courtyard. And the goon below heard it too. He snorted and gripped his spear tightly in both hands before heading off to investigate the noise, while up on the ledge Oblivion flashed back into Roxas's hand. "There. A distraction."

That was clever of him, she had to admit. "Well let's hurry before he realizes there's nothing over there, then."

"Lead the way."

The two dropped down onto the ground and hurried through the doorway that the goon had previously been guarding. They found themselves in a large and open round room, but luckily it was an empty one. There was another door on the far end of the room, so Xion started making her way over to it. But Roxas grabbed her sleeve to stop her.

"Xion, look." Xion glanced back over her shoulder at Roxas and saw he was pointing in another direction. She followed his finger to an elevated part of the room up a short staircase. On the wall above a toppled stone throne was a threatening, familiar sight: sparkling stars drowned in a bright, pale blue light, pouring forth from a familiar shape.

"The Keyhole," Xion whispered. "Roxas, should we fix it now?"

Roxas's hesitation was visible on his face. "It's not as bright as Radiant Garden's, so I think we still have some time. Not a lot, but some. If we're about to enter another Dive to the Heart, then I'd rather we find Rydia first. Before something happens to her."

Xion nodded. That made sense. "Let's hurry then, and we'll come back here right away." The two made their way over to the exit, and with quick glances back at the Flood of Light, they hurried off into the next room.

The room they entered now was even larger and more open than the last, save for various circles of colored light that dotted the floor. It was a great hall that Xion had trouble figuring out the purpose of, if it even had one. A ballroom maybe? There was no door at the far end but there were several staircases that led down and out along the sides. But as Xion made her way toward the nearest set of stairs, a wall erupted out of the ground with a burst of darkness.

"Huh?" Xion stepped back and the wall retreated back into the ground. She tried to go another way, and another wall popped up. "How are we supposed to get through?"

Roxas picked up a broken piece of brick from the floor and bounced it up and down in his hand. "Let me try something." He tossed the brick at one of the nearby magic circles, a blue one, and it vanished as soon as it entered the circle's boundary. Roxas took a step toward it.

"Wait! What if it's dangerous?" Xion called after him.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's some sort of portal." With the first step Roxas took into the circle, he vanished just as the brick had. Xion took in a sharp breath and held it nervously, then in the distance heard a voice. "Xion! I was right!"

"Okay!" Xion called back, then slapped a hand over her mouth. If any guards were nearby, they just gave themselves away. She dashed off into the light, and her vision with white for an instant before she found herself standing next to Roxas in another part of the hall enclosed by walls. With her first step out of the circle her boot kicked against the brick Roxas had tossed in.

"It's some sort of maze," Roxas said. "Come on, let's try to find an exit."

Somewhat embarrassingly, Xion lost track of time as they moved from portal to portal trying to find an exit to the hall. But moreover that wasn't a good thing; the longer they took to find Rydia, the worse the Flood of Light was sure to grow. They couldn't afford to waste much more time. After numerous twists and turns, and navigating same-looking spaces created by those vanishing and reappearing walls, Roxas and Xion finally reached one of the staircases that led outside.

Once more they stood on a ledge overlooking some guards. The goons in question were standing in front of another staircase that moved even further down; Xion hoped that she and Roxas were going the right way toward the dungeon, or else this detour could cost them dearly.

"Should I throw my Keyblade again?" Roxas asked.

Xion shook her head. "This place is smaller than the courtyard, so there's a better chance they'd see the Keyblade before you bring it back to your hand." She bit her lip and looked around the room. They needed something more subtle, but still enough to grab the guards' attention… Aha. There, across the room: part of the wall looked like it would crumble at the slightest breath. Xion's Keyblade appeared in her hand and she pointed at the distant bricks. The glow of a Fire or Thunder spell would give them away, but Aero would do just fine. Wind swirled around the tip of Sign of Innocence, spiraling inward and condensing. With a flick of her weapon Xion sent the near-invisible bullet flying, and it hit its target dead-on. Part of the wall collapsed and brought a chunk of the second floor with it, causing the guards to scramble and try to figure out what was going on.

"Let's go!" Roxas and Xion jumped to the ground floor and sprinted at top speed down the stairs the goons had been guarding. It was a curved staircase, and as they moved further and further down Xion started to hear a sound – crying, the choking sobs of a scared little girl. "Rydia!"

Xion practically jumped off the stairs when they reached the bottom. There was only one cell down here, but their gut had proven them right: they found the dungeon. "Rydia, we're here!" Roxas ran to the wooden door and gripped the bars blocking its small window.

The crying cut off abruptly. "Roxas?!" Xion heard sniffling and little footsteps, and Roxas moved aside to let her peer through the window as well. Rydia peered up at them from within the dim, stone prison cell, her eyes red and cheeks puffy from crying. Her hands were still clasped by those odd manacles. "Xion too! You came for me!"

"Don't you ever doubt us for a second. You may be a brat, but you're our brat." Roxas's voice cracked with emotion as he spoke to her. "Rydia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. We told you we'd keep you safe, and we messed up."

"S-Stop crying! Dummy!" Rydia rubbed her arm over her eyes. "I… I…" She hiccuped and swiped a finger at her eyes, but despite her efforts started crying again. "I-I'm so s-scared! Where am I? Why-why did they take me?!"

"You're at Maleficent's castle," Xion said. "We don't know why, but we're getting you out of there. Right now." She and Roxas took a step back, and Roxas summoned Oathkeeper. Light fathered at the Keyblade's tip and shot toward the door. A _click_ echoed through the dungeon, and a moment later the door swung open of its own volition.

It hadn't even opened all the way before Rydia ran out with tears streaming down her face.

Rydia practically jumped at Xion. She tried giving Xion a hug but the manacles kept her from wrapping her arm around the older girl, so she opted to bury her face in Xion's shirt instead. "Thank you. Thank you. I'm scared…" She kept repeating that, quietly thanking them as her body shook. Xion slowly ran a hand through Rydia's green hair.

Roxas stepped up beside them. "Let's get those off of you." Rydia pulled away from Xion and looked at Roxas, puzzled, then at his Keyblade. It slowly registered to her and she held up her chained wrists to him. With a simple tap of his Keyblade, the chains fell from Rydia's wrist to the floor and then vanished in a burst of green fire.

"Those didn't look like normal chains," Xion said.

"They stopped my magic somehow." Rydia curled and uncurled her fingers and fog slowly started forming around the trio's ankles. "I can use it again now, though." The fog vanished as she hugged herself. "Um, can I go home now?"

Roxas and Xion exchanged glances. She was tired and scared, and Xion could sympathize. But they couldn't leave just yet. Xion put a hand on Rydia's shoulder and knelt down to speak to her at eye level. "Almost, I promise. But not yet. Remember what Roxas said when we met? He and I have something we need to do on this mountain."

"Oh… Yeah. Okay." Rydia looked down at her feet and shuffled awkwardly. She looked so disappointed, and understandably so.

"There may be something you can do to help us, Rydia," Roxas said. Both Rydia and Xion glanced at him, curious. She didn't have a Keyblade, so what could she do? "We're kind of up against the clock, and if we need to sneak back the way we came it's possible we'll run out of time. Do you think your magic could give us a hand? Make it harder for the guards to see us?"

That was brilliant! Roxas shot Xion a wink in reply to the smile that had grown on her face, and then both looked to Rydia. "…Okay." She clenched her fists and nodded. "But you owe me, dummy."

Roxas snorted a laugh. "Whatever you say, brat."

Rydia held her hand up and white wispy clouds begin to spiral above her palm like a slow, miniature hurricane. As the clouds spun, their surroundings grew indistinct and white. Fog descended on the Forbidden Mountain, and just as it had in the forest soon they couldn't see more than a couple of feet in front of them. Xion conjured a flame in her open palm which helped a bit, certainly more than the goons would be able to see.

Suddenly a mighty roar shook the castle, and in an instant Roxas and Xion had summoned their Keyblades. On the floor above they could hear cries and a stampede of footsteps as the guards all over the castle started moving around in a frenzy. "What's going on?!" Xion shouted.

"I don't know. Come on!" Roxas led her toward the staircase, but then stopped so suddenly that Xion nearly collided with him. The two turned around and looked at Rydia, who hadn't budged. "Rydia?"

"Don't worry about it. I made a distraction!"

Wait a second, Xion had recognized that roar. Slowly realization dawned on her. "Your Mist Dragon."

"He's upstairs causing a commotion in the courtyard," Rydia said with a smug grin plastered on her face. "Now not only are we hidden, but the guards are too busy fighting him to do their jobs."

Roxas cheered. "Nice job, Rydia! Alright, let's get moving!"

Backtracking along the route they had taken to get to the dungeon wasn't an option since there was no easy way to scale the ledge Xion and Roxas had jumped down earlier. But with the guards off fighting Rydia's illusion, they had the freedom to search the lower floors for another way up. It took some doing, but eventually Rydia located a staircase that brought the trio up into the same large hall as before. Roxas swore as he realized they they had to work through portal after portal again. With the 'combat' raging outside as their background noise, Roxas, Xion, and Rydia made their way through the hall.

Instead of the passageway to the throne room being dark as it had before, though, it was now lit dangerously brightly. That was _not_ good. Roxas ran ahead with Xion right behind him and Rydia holding her hand, but as Xion crossed the threshold of the doorway, Rydia suddenly stopped and let go. "Rydia! Come on!"

Rydia stared down at her feet, then up at Xion with wide, fearful eyes. "I-I can't! My feet won't let me!" She clutched at her yellow shirt. "My heart hurts… What's happening?"

Just like with their friends back at Radiant Garden. Of course, how could she forget? Xion hurried over to Rydia and put a gentle hand on her head. "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with you. It's caused by the thing we have to deal with." She looked back at Roxas, who stood in the tunnel and was silhouetted against the Flood's light. "Rydia, wait right here. Don't move anywhere. I promise you we'll be right back." When Xion turned around to join Roxas, Rydia held tightly to her jacket and kept her from moving.

"You swear?" she asked with a shaking voice.

"I swear." Xion tapped the side of her head. "Got it memorized?" Slowly Rydia let go and nodded, and so Xion gave her a little wave and joined Roxas.

The two Keyblade-wielding Nobodies, the only ones who could battle the Flood of Light, faced the Keyhole with their Keyblades raised. Light gathered at the tips of their weapons, but just in in Radiant Garden the beams that would fire into the Keyhole never came. A ring of light pulsed out of the Keyhole and a familiar dizziness overtook Xion. Her grip tightened on her Keyblade and she held steady, unwilling to fall unconscious as she had before. Her vision went white and the floor gave out beneath her feet…

…and when she could see again, she was falling through a black abyss. Wind whipped at Xion's face and she tried frantically to make sense of her surroundings. Her Keyblade was still in her grip and – thank goodness – Roxas was falling just a little above her. A pinpoint of light was further above him, and growing more distant by the moment.

"Where are we?!" Xion cried. She fell through the air helplessly, tumbling this way and that.

Roxas wasn't fairing much better, but he did manage to point down below them. "I guess this is why it's called a _Dive_ to the Heart."

Xion followed his gesture and looked down; far, far down. Amidst the blackness surrounding them was the familiar sight of the Station of Awakening. It was still distant, but growing ever closer. The image within the heart of Enchanted Dominion depicted a white castle with the spires surrounded by blue, red, and green lights. The good fairies?

_And to show I bear no ill will, I too shall bestow a gift on the child._

A woman's voice echoed around them, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Did you say something?" Roxas called up to Xion.

"No, but I heard it too!" Xion replied.

Something appeared in front of them as they fell. It was a scene inlaid in what could only be described as an extravagant silver picture frame, and the frame hovered in space. The scene in question showed the wicked witch of Enchanted Dominion, Maleficent, as she stood in an extravagant audience chamber and spun her hand over her staff.

_Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel…and die!_

Roxas and Xion passed through the image and it vanished in a silent explosion of sparkles. Xion turned around to glance up as she fell, but there was no sign of it behind them. She turned back to face the approaching Station of Awakening again, only to see that three more frames had appeared in front of her and Roxas.

_Did you hear that my pet? All these years, they've been looking for a baby!_

_But don't you remember? We've met before!_

_What's this… Why aren't you asleep, boy? That fool Flora cast a spell to put everyone in this castle into a deep, deep slumber._

That last of the three scenes caught Xion's attention the most. The person in the image who Maleficent was talking to – it was Terra! Xion and Roxas passed between the three frames, and like the first image they disappeared into sparkles.

"Xion, do you have any idea what's going on?" Roxas asked.

That was a tough one. Clearly these were events that had happened before, because the good fairies had told them that Maleficent hadn't been back to Enchanted Dominion in years. Then maybe… "I think… I think maybe these are the world's memories," Xion said. "Important things that happened here, etched into the heart of Enchanted Dominion itself."

Once more three moments manifested between the two Keyblade wielders and their goal, and on each of the three images were familiar faces. Terra stood in front of a sleeping woman, Ventus and the good fairies stood in the throne room of Maleficent's castle, and Aqua confronted Maleficent alongside another man.

_What did I do? What did YOU do?_

_Huh? How do you know about me…and the Keyblade?_

_Maleficent! What did Master Xehanort tell you?_

"Why do you think we're seeing these?" Roxas asked as they passed through the latest set.

"I don't think there is a reason," Xion admitted. "I think it's just because we're in the world's heart, and hearts are where the memories are stored." She clutched at her chest tightly.

One last frame appeared in front of them. It was somewhere in the forest, similar to where Xion and Roxas had first arrived in this world though not the exact same location. A boy who looked to be about their age, dressed in black, white, and fuchsia with pale pink hair, lay face-down and unconscious on the soft grass.

_Oh my! Are you alright?!_ The familiar voice of Fauna called from just out of frame and she ran over to the boy. She knelt down beside him and gently flipped him over, then brushed the grass off his face.

_Dear! Can you hear me?_ Flora rushed into frame, with Merryweather right behind her.

Slowly, and with evident pain, the boy's eyes opened. _I… Where am I…?_

_You're in the middle of the woods, dear. Do you know how you got here?_

_I don't… Where… Who…am I?_

The fairies gasped and spoke in hushed whispers under their breath. _Something dreadful must have happened. Young man, do you know your name?_

The boy grasped for the words. _My name…is…_

The frame vanished as all the ones before had, giving Roxas and Xion a perfect view of the Station of Awakening below. The two halted in midair, their dive having come to an end, and they flipped over so that their feet were pointed toward the stained glass pillar below them. A sot golden glow appeared in the dead center of the Station of Awakening, slowly but surely forming into the shape of a Keyhole. As one, Roxas and Xion pointed their Keyblades down toward the light. There was no noise save the harmonious sound made by the magic of Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and Sign of Innocence as the Keyblades gathered light. Three thin beams pierced the Keyhole together and the space around the Keyhole shattered, forming that familiar orange and blue pattern. Light rose up to fill their vision and Roxas and Xion felt themselves falling once again, but slower this time.

They gently touched down on solid ground in Maleficent's throne room. Behind them the Flood of Light had faded away until there was nothing but a faint Keyhole-shaped outline on the wall. But they couldn't rest just yet.

Xion gasped. "Organization XIII?!"

A man in an all-too-familiar black coat stood in the center of the circular chamber. Xion's eyes flickered from him to the figure beside him: Rydia struggled to get away, but the hooded man held her wrist tightly in his grasp.

"Let her go!" Roxas shouted. He leaped from the small ledge that the two of them stood on toward the black figure. But as he brought his Keyblades down, the figure blurred and vanished. Rydia dropped to the ground, freed of her captor, and then the stranger reappeared right behind Xion. Xion whirled around and pointed her Keyblade at him, while down below Roxas stood in front of Rydia protectively.

"I suppose I was too hopeful to think that those Nobodies would drive you off." The man's voice was off somehow, like he was using a spell to alter it. It must have been because if they heard his voice they would be able to recognize him.

"So you're the one who's been bossing them around?" Xion asked. Her mind went back to the Nobodies in Twilight Town; she knew they couldn't have been flying solo. "Who are you? How is the Organization still around?"

"It's not, don't you worry about that. I am working for my own interests." The white thorns of energy iconic to Nobodies wrapped around the man's right arm. "I didn't want to interfere directly, but it would seem you forced my hand. I see now that I should have taken care of the two of you like I did Demyx."

"You're the one who attacked Demyx?!" Xion barely had time to get the question out before he thrust his arm forward and sent a blast of pink-tinted wind at her. She felt her breath get knocked out of her when it impacted her chest and she was sent flying back, where she collided with Roxas. Rydia let out a cry of fear.

Roxas and Xion slowly untangled themselves and climbed up from the cold stone floor. The man's image blurred again and he reappeared to their side. Both Keyblade wielders charged at him only for him to teleport once more. Xion pivoted around and shot a Fira spell toward his new location, but a Dusk appeared at the last second and took the hit for him. Beneath the trio's feet a pit of darkness with a rose-colored outline opened up. Roxas was barely able to push Rydia out of it before a wall of wind swirled around them and then rapidly closed in, slicing at Roxas and Xion while the darkness attacked them from below.

When the attack vanished the two fell to their knees in pain, their Keyblades vanishing. A dark corridor appeared behind the stranger and he walked backwards into it while facing them. "Let this be a warning. Stop pursuing the Flood of Light."

The man disappeared into the darkness and the corridor collapsed behind him. After several long, silent moments, Rydia finally found her voice and hurried over to Roxas and Xion. "Are you two okay?!"

Roxas laughed, but his laugh was cut off by a sharp hiss of pain. He clutched at his side and the green glow of a Cure spell slowly washed over him. "We've had worse…"

Xion's entire body ached. "Who was he? He was hiding his voice…"

"I don't know. He never drew his weapon."

"You know him?" Rydia asked. "I'm sorry, he grabbed me while I was hiding from the guards…"

Xion shook her head and brushed a hand through Rydia's hair. "Don't be sorry, Rydia. He's a very dangerous man, and we had no idea he was even here. If anything we should apologize."

Roxas stood up and summoned his Keyblades again. He looked up through the windows near the roof of the throne room, then down to Rydia and gave her a tired smile. "Hey. What do you say we get you home?"

**x-x-x**

The flight back to the fairy moors on their Gliders was a quiet one. Rydia was homesick, Roxas and Xion had their minds occupied by Organization XIII, and all three of them were exhausted. Slowly but surely the forest beneath them transitioned to marsh, and then the marsh gave way to that familiar crystal clear lake. The Gliders touched down on a field of flowers on the water's edge, where Quina was waiting.

"What happen?" they asked.

Roxas sighed. "It's a long story. But I'm sorry, Xion and I–"

"They kept me safe!" Rydia said with a soft smile. "It all worked out in the end."

Roxas laughed and rested a hand on his hip. "Yeah. It sure did."

"Are you guys going now, since you did what you had to with your swords?"

"We are," Xion said with a nod. She looked up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to set. What a day this had been. "There are so many other places we need to go to and help. This was just one among many."

Rydia shuffled awkwardly and held her hands behind her back. "Can I see you again?"

Roxas ruffled her hair gently. "Of course! We'll be sure to come back here, brat. Don't worry."

Rydia stuck her tongue out. "Why would I ever worry about you, dummy?"

"I will make lots of yummy foods for next time." Quina hopped in excitement, their tongue starting to drool. "Maybe make some now too, in fact."

Xion laughed. "I definitely want to try your cooking someday, Quina. Just, hum, don't put anything weird in it, okay?" Xion paused as a thought came to her. "Hey, before we go, can we do one more thing?"

"What's that?" Roxas asked.

Xion shot him a grin and fished through her pockets for her Gummiphone. She turned to Rydia and Quina. "This is called a camera. I'm going to hold it up, and when I give the signal you give it a big, wide smile. Alright?"

Quina and Rydia nodded, though they didn't seem to get it. "And then I can eat it?" Quina asked.

Xion put her Gummiphone into selfie mode and held it up to capture all four of them, the lake reflecting the sunset in the background. "Okay, on three. One, two, three… Cheese!"

There were so many worlds out there. And if all of them had new friends like Rydia in them, maybe this adventure wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

_This chapter is a long one! I considered splitting it into two, but there was no good spot to really do that._

_I'm not really hiding the hooded man's identity anymore, and I'm pretty sure everyone can figure it out at this point. If you still haven't don't worry, he'll be unmasked next chapter. Roxas and Xion won't know who he is for quite a while yet though._


	12. The Big Olive

**Chapter 12: The Big Olive**

It was a dark place. Cold, damp, and quiet; well, mostly quiet. From some cavern in the distance the screams of tormented souls echoed down the tunnels to him. This world was like something out of a nightmare, and for once he wished he had not regained his heart so he would not have to deal with the pain and suffering that this dark underworld brought. But if he hadn't gotten his heart back, he wouldn't have known what it was he was missing. Still… He glanced at his surroundings: at the wispy white souls flying through the air above him, at the sickly green glow within the vast pit that he stood on the precipice of. Still, this was not a pleasant place to be.

He conjured an ethereal χ in his open palm and through it observed those who bore the Recusant's Sigil. Roxas and Xion had arrived on the world above and would soon be solving the Flood of Light in the city. That was…acceptable. Not preferable, but acceptable. There were many other worlds out there, and he only needed seven to be put to sleep. He could afford this one stay in the land of the waking. But he would have to isolate those two on this world before they interfered any further than they already had.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding?"

He dismissed the χ and glanced down at the stone bridge on which he stood, where two imp-like creatures stood at his feet. The thin blue one gestured toward the doorway in front of them. "He'll see you now."

"Thank you." With a nod of his hooded head, he left the chilling cavern and distant screams behind, ascending dark stone steps until he finally emerged in a large, round room. It was carved out of the same black rock that made up all of these twisted caverns, with large open windows looking out on the domain below. There were extravagant statues and gargoyles carved on the walls and ceilings, a map on a round table in the center of the room, and a throne against the far wall where the master of the Underworld sat. He looked bored, disinterested. His long, bony fingers tapped against his armrest.

"So who are you anyway, huh? Why do you think you feel the need to interrupt my 'me' time?"

Yes, he was an unpleasant sort. Quick-witted, silver-tongued, and short-tempered. But the man had heard tales of him and had known what to expect. He gave a dramatic bow and spoke with respect. "Hail Hades, Lord of the Dead. I come to ask of you a humble request."

"Request? I don't do requests, bub." Hades watched him closely, squinting his eyes and leaning forward. The god was clearly trying to peer under his hood. When he spoke again, there was a hint of curiosity in his voice. "I thought Maleficent told me you stiffs in black were all gone. What's the deal here?"

So Maleficent had been here recently? Interesting. "That witch spoke true, Organization XIII is indeed gone. I am working in my own interests now that my heart has been returned to me." He reached up and lowered his hood, revealing long pink hair and bright blue eyes. He brushed some of his hair back over his shoulder. "My name is Lauriam. I hope that you and I can come to a partnership – I know how much you like deals."

"Deals, huh?" Hades let out a breath, blowing up at his literally flaming hair. He leaned back in his chair but his former curiosity had vanished and disinterest was plain on his face. "Well I do like deals, but my last couple haven't exactly worked out for me." He paused to think, once again tapping his fingers on his armrest. "Still, tossing aside your old crew and flying solo? Hey, I can sympathize. So I tell ya what, you pitch your idea to me and I'll consider it. You're on the clock. And…go."

A time limit? That was unexpected, but Lauriam would take it in stride. As he spoke, Hades pretended to watch an imaginary wristwatch. Or perhaps wrist-sundial would be more accurate? "As you must know given your position, the boundaries of sleep and death touch. I am engaging on a journey of sleep and waking, but it is a dangerous one. Lord Hades, given your expertise on this subject, I was wondering if you may help me find an alternative path to my goals."

"Alright, yeah, that's enough. You can just go and skedaddle now. It was great seeing ya, toodle loo!" Hades began standing up from his chair.

_No!_ Panic washed over Lauriam and he took a step back from Hades. If Hades attacked him here in the Underworld, in his own domain, Lauriam would stand no chance. "Do you know how to access the Final World?" he blurted out.

Hades paused in the middle of standing up. He eyed Lauriam curiously, one eyebrow raised and his lips pursed. Slowly, Hades sat back down in his chair, leaned forward, and steepled his fingers. "The Final World? That's what you're after?"

Panic gave way to relief. Lauriam couldn't help but bring his hand to his chest and let out a breath. "So you do know of it?"

"Yeah I know it. Of course I know it, who do you think I am? Hello. I'm the Lord of the Dead." Hades leaned back and tapped his long chin. What was going through his mind right now? "So let me see if I've got this right: you're trying to get into the Final World. You have a plan to do it, but it's a dangerous one, so you want me to get you in another way? That's where we're at right now?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Right, right. So I'm your plan beta. Hey, I ain't no beta." Hades tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Hm, the Final World… Final World, Final World…" Something seemed to click inside his mind, for his eyes suddenly lit up and a smile came to his face. "Alright, here's the deal."

Suddenly Lauriam felt Hades's arm around his shoulder. He looked beside him to see Hades leaning in conspiratorially. Lauriam hadn't even seen him move! "Yes, I can get you to the Final World. But hey, this is a two-way street. Nothing in life or the afterlife is free, got it?"

Of course. But Lauriam couldn't show his joy just yet, not here. It wouldn't do to let his guard down around Hades. So keeping his voice as level as he could, he responded, "I did say I was here for a deal, after all. Name your price."

Hades grinned and leaned in closer. "You may have heard, I was banished from Olympus – it's no big deal, long story. Anyway. There is something I need you to go there and get for me."

"You want a mere mortal to steal from gods?" _This may have been a mistake_.

Hades slapped Lauriam's back. "Exactly – you're mortal! You'll fly right under their radar, they won't even know you were there. And hey, is it stealing to take back something they took in the first place?"

Lauriam frowned and his brow furrowed in thought. This was incredibly dangerous; if he were caught, he'd have no chance against the Olympians. But if Hades really could get him into the Final World without needing to go through with this…

"Fine. On one condition, though. Trespassing in Olympus is a big risk for me after all."

Hades grimaced. "What condition?"

Lauriam slipped out from under Hades's arm and stepped back. It never hurt to have a backup plan in place. If this partnership didn't work out, he'd need to deal with Roxas and Xion so they couldn't interfere with his first plan. He looked Hades in the eyes. "There are two Keyblade wielders in the world above. I ask that you keep them detained here on this world."

"Ugh. More key-slinging brats?"

"Friends of Sora's, in fact."

Hades's mood seemed to do a complete 180 at that. He let out a cackle and slapped his hand down on Lauriam's shoulder. "Really now! You don't say? Then Lauriam, my good friend, consider my handling them a favor with no strings attached."

**x-x-x**

The Gummiphone felt heavy in Roxas's hand. On the other end of the call Tron stood with his arms crossed and his eyes low, while his mind was off in thought. They had called Tron shortly after arriving on the next world, to catch him up to speed on what had happened in Enchanted Dominion. But he had been rather silent ever since finishing their recap.

"I see," Tron said at last. "So you think Organization XIII is still around, then?"

Roxas glanced at Xion, who shrugged. "We're not sure," Roxas admitted. "He said that he was doing this on his own, but it could have been a lie."

"He was hiding his voice too as if we'd recognize him otherwise," Xion added.

"Yes, you did mention that. Well, I'll alert Ienzo and he'll be sure to tell the others. Is there anything else I can help with?"

"Anything new with the data?"

"Has Demyx woken up yet?"

Xion and Roxas asked their questions at the same time, which prompted light chuckling from the two of them. They swerved around a crowd in the streets while Tron answered. "No on both fronts, I'm afraid. Demyx is stable now, but still unconscious. Terra, Ienzo, and I have been working furiously to figure out just what was stolen, but there's so much data to dig through."

Xion looked apologetic. "Well, take your time. At least now we're pretty sure that this mysterious man is the one who ordered the Nobodies to take it, so that's something of a lead."

Tron nodded. "That's very true. We'll keep doing our part, and you two keep doing yours. The worlds are counting on you."

Roxas gave a half-smile. "Yeah, no pressure. See you soon, Tron."

"Call me any time!" Tron waved and the Gummiphone's screen went black.

Xion moved a bit ahead through the crowds, then turned around with her hands behind her back and smiled at Roxas. "Alright, let's go find that Keyhole!"

The city they had found themselves in, Thebes, was enormous and lively. And despite its classical appearance, in many ways it seemed rather modern. From within a small group of people Roxas and Xion watched as a man holding up a ceramic vase turned it to swap from an image of a red hand to an image of a green man. As if it were a traffic light, the crowd began moving across the street that had previously been occupied by horses and chariots. All around them vendors called loudly to sell their wares, ranging from cheese and olives at stalls to sundials from men in long coats.

And all around them there were billboards, statues, and signs. Moreover, they were all images of the same guy. His face was impossible to escape from, whether he was advertising shoes and drinks, or being used to promote a store named after him, or even just the numerous statues of him scattered around. Sheesh, talk about hero worship.

"I had no idea this Herc guy was so popular," Roxas said. He stopped to admire the absolutely massive statue in the middle of the agora. He turned back to Xion. "I met someone who talked about him a lot when I came to this world before, and I've seen him from a distance a couple times, but my missions here never brought me to town so I never realized just how big a deal he actually was."

Xion tapped the side of her head. "It's fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure he and Sora were friends." Then with a frown, Xion looked at the statue again; more specifically, at the scaffolding surrounding it. Then she looked at the buildings around them, where more scaffolding was set up. "I came into town before on my missions, but this construction is all new. I wonder what happened?"

It was new? Well, everybody seemed to be getting along fine even if there was a lot of construction going on. Nobody seemed particularly down in the dumps. "Hopefully nothing too serious," Roxas said.

They continued moving through Thebes, past the agora into more twisting and turning streets and avenues. Everywhere they went there were signs of reconstruction and the occasional scorched stone. One avenue was blocked off by rubble with some people saying that Hercules was scheduled to come clear it later. Perhaps it was their Organization XIII training coming back to them, but Roxas and Xion couldn't help but listen in on conversations like that everywhere they went in Thebes. The Organization had drilled it into their heads to keep an ear out and learn everything they could about the world, after all. And something they consistently noticed as they were eavesdropping on passersby was that many of the Thebans were talking about something strange happening at one place in particular: the Coliseum.

The Coliseum was in the same place that Roxas remembered, but it looked completely different from how it used to. What had once been a rather humble arena was now a massive affair complete with ticket booths and multiple entrances. Some lingering piles of stone and tools told Roxas that it had been reconstructed too, though judging by the more complete state it was in than the rest of Thebes it looked like it had been rebuilt a while before whatever happened to the city. But it was so completely different from the Coliseum he remembered that the only way he was sure he was in the right place was by the familiar face standing at the front.

"Phil?"

Behind the crowd, Roxas and Xion came to a stop. Xion glanced at Roxas. "A friend of yours?"

"You could say that, yeah."

The short satyr who had trained Roxas during his previous visits to this world was standing atop one of the ticket booths and speaking to a crowd. His hand motions said he was trying to calm them down, but his face and voice said he was just as irritated as they were. "Folks, folks, please! I know you wanted to see some fights today, but we can't open the Coliseum!"

"What's the big idea?!"

"I paid for these tickets!"

The crowd roared with disapproval, and security guards had to keep a few people from climbing up to grab Phil. Phil took a step back and wiped at his brow before continuing. "Look, it's something beyond my control, alright? I called Herc but he was all the way up in Olympus and won't be here until tonight. And until then none of us can enter the Coliseum – that's not a rule, I mean we _literally can't_. That lightshow is locking us out."

Xion's hand flew to Roxas's arm. "Did you hear that?"

Roxas's response was to call Oathkeeper into his hand. "Come on!" He grabbed Xion's hand and darted forward, shoving his way through the angry crowd and muttering apologies as he pushed people aside. Xion's fingers were wrapped tightly around his so they didn't get separated, and a brief flash told him that she had called on her Keyblade too. When they got to the other side of the crowd the guards were waiting for them and tried to hold them back, but Roxas and Xion shoved them aside with the flat sides of their Keyblades and continued to the door.

"Hey kid, you seriously can't go in there!" Phil shouted.

Roxas glanced back over his shoulder. "Sorry Phil, but the two of us actually can!"

"Wha– Roxas?!"

The interior lobby of the Coliseum was just as different from the old one as the outside was. Instead of a small cramped room, they were in a large and extravagant lobby complete with a fantastical painting of Hercules on the domed ceiling. Was this place a priority or what? It wasn't Roxas and Xion's priority though; no, they were focused on the vibrant blue light on the floor against the wall, next to a trophy case. Their Keyblades reacted to it: the Flood of Light.

"That was easier than to find than the last one," Xion said while turning her head to not look directly at the bright Keyhole.

Roxas pointed his Keyblade at it. "Yeah. And thank goodness too, because this one seems pretty far along. Perfect timing."

Xion's Keyblade joined his. "I'm ready when you are."

White filled their vision and the ground gave out beneath them as they began their now-familiar dive into the heart of Olympus Coliseum.

**x-x-x**

As in Enchanted Dominion, they finished the Dive to the Heart and fixed the Flood of Light without any problems. And as in Enchanted Dominion, during the dive they saw images: memories of the world itself. As they fell toward the Station of Awakening with Mount Olympus depicted upon it, Roxas and Xion saw a bearded man hurling lightning bolts at giant monsters. They saw Terra battling a soldier wielding the powers of darkness, and Sora riding a winged horse above the Coliseum's ruins as he fought a multiheaded monster. The last image was of Hercules glowing brightly as he held a woman in his arms.

When they felt the ground beneath their feet again, Roxas and Xion looked around and blinked as their eyes adjusted to seeing the lobby without the brightness of the Flood of Light. "I guess more of our friends than just Sora have been here?" Xion asked out loud.

Roxas nodded, but his mind was still trying to catch up to his body after that dive. "I guess so." The things they saw were all broken up, though – meaningless without any context.

"Hey kid!" Hoofsteps echoed on the tile floor of the lobby as Phil approached the two of them. Behind him outside, security guards were still working their best to keep the crowds from rioting. Phil stopped some distance from the two kids and tugged at his beard. "I knew I wasn't seeing things. How've you been, rookie?"

"Doing well!" Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and knelt down to give Phil a handshake. This guy was abrasive and a harsh teacher, but Roxas had to admit, he had fond memories of his time at the Coliseum. After all, Phil was the first person he met who saw something great in him, something more than just being Sora's Nobody.

_Order you? What are you talkin' about? It means I have faith you can win._

When Phil let go of Roxas's hand, he then slapped the kid upside the head. Roxas winced and rubbed his head as he stood up. "Last time we saw each other I said don't be a stranger. Then what do you do? You go and vanish for months!"

"Sorry, Phil. Some things came up." Roxas heard Xion giggling behind him. He turned around to see her trying and failing to hide it. "Oh thanks."

"Sorry," she said with another small laugh.

Phil didn't fail to notice Xion either. He slicked back his few remaining hairs and stepped forward. "Oh my, and who's this? Roxas, you went and found yourself a lady friend without tellin' me?"

"We're not–"

"I'm Xion." She too knelt down and shook Phil's hand. "Roxas and I have known each other for as long as we can remember."

"And he never thought to mention that he had a girl as cute as you? For shame, kid!" Roxas slapped a hand over his face in embarrassment and Phil leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to Xion. "Hey, if this pipsqueak isn't man enough for you, my schedule is open."

Xion grinned. "He is kind of scrawny, isn't he?"

"O-Okay, that's enough!" Roxas pulled Xion back up to her feet while hers and Phil's laughter made his cheeks grow hotter.

"Aw, you know I'm just messing with you, rookie." Phil looked around at the Coliseum's lobby, paying special attention to the Keyhole. He tugged on his beard again. "Now I'm old, but I'm not senile. There was a freaky lightshow in here before you two showed up. Care to fill me in on what that was?"

"It was something called the Flood of Light," Xion explained. "Roxas and I are traveling around and taking care of places where it's cropping up."

"Really now? You went and became a hero while I wasn't lookin', Roxas? I guess my training paid off." He paused and gave Roxas's right arm a judging glare. "Or maybe not. Xion was right, you are one scrawny kid."

"H-Hey!" Roxas sputtered and tried to stretch his short sleeves down over his arms, while Xion giggled again behind her hand. Why did she have to go and think Phil was funny?

Phil barked out a laugh and walked to the side, toward a reception desk. "Well if that light is all taken care of, then why don't you stick around for the Games? You're just in time to sign up."

Xion looked inquisitively between Roxas and Phil. "The Games?"

While Phil dug through some drawers at the reception desk, Roxas explained it to her. "A tournament, basically. I've joined in on it once or twice before." Those were fun times in retrospect, even if he had more than one surprise from them. Like Xigbar being his final match; his body ached for basically the whole day after that.

Xion shrugged. "Sounds fun I guess, but do we really have time for that?"

"What, you two in a hurry? Those lights can't be _that_ common." Phil returned to them with a quill and stack of papers. "And here I was hoping I'd have more of my students than just Herc joining in the Sora Cup."

Xion and Roxas both froze on the spot. Just hearing that name put an immediate downer on their spirits. "Sora?" Xion managed to get out. Her voice shook as she said it.

Phil didn't seem to notice their discomfort. "What is this, XX Questions? He's a kid who's helped us out of more than one jam. Shame he couldn't be here for his own Games, but it sounds like he has important stuff to take care of." As Phil dipped the quill in some ink, Xion and Roxas shared a look without words between each other. A tournament named after Sora? That was…incredibly touching, and Roxas couldn't help but smile sadly. He really did make friends everywhere he went.

Phil wrote something down on the papers and spoke to them over his shoulder. "Hey, don't tell him I said this, but that kid is every bit a hero as Herc."

"From what I've heard, that 'hero' has been zeroed."

A new, low voice spoke up, and when Phil heard it his quill fell to the floor. Phil, Roxas, and Xion all whirled around to see a billowing pillar of smoke rising from the floor. The smoke spiraled and swirled and formed into a tall figure with blue skin, blue flames for hair, and a black toga that turned into clouds near his feet. He eyed Phil with an unimpressed gaze and then turned to the kids.

"And who do we have here? You're the Keyblade wielders I was told about? You're a couple of runts!"

"Who are you?" Light danced at Roxas's fingertips; he didn't summon his Keyblade just yet, but he was ready at a moment's notice.

The man looked offended. He pulled inward and put his hands on his chest in indignation. "Who am I? _Who _am _I_? Yeah you clearly must be who I'm looking for, because anyone from here would know me! I am–"

"He's Hades, the Lord of the Dead." Phil cut the man off. Hades clenched his teeth and shot a glare at Phil. His burning hair flared up dangerously.

"Watch your tone, goat."

Phil laughed and put his hands on his hips. "What, you think you're some kinda threat or somethin'? Herc has dealt with you more times than I can count! Being a god don't mean much to a true hero, Hades!"

Wait, back up, a _god_? As in a literal, honest-to-goodness divinity? And Phil was just talking him down like he was nothing! Roxas stared dumbstruck at the display in front of him; if he wanted to, this Hades guy could kick Phil away like a football, but all he was doing was making angry grunts as Phil continued to mock him.

"…and wait 'til you see the way Herc will deal with–'

"ENOUGH!" With a shout that shook the Coliseum, Hades's skin and hair flashed red. Phil fell on his back and Xion moved to help him, but the intense heat radiating off of Hades kept her back. After a moment Hades returned to normal and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, okay, okay. We're cool. It's cool."

Xion took the chance and helped Phil up to his feet. "You said you were looking for us. What do you want?"

"Right! Yes. I did say that, didn't I? And Wonderboy isn't around to interfere, no matter what the old goat says. So what do I want? I'm glad you asked…" Hades held one hand out and black clouds swirled around in his palm. The clouds formed into two small statues, miniature scale figurines of Roxas and Xion.

Phil gasped and turned to the two of them. "Kids, the two of you have gotta run–"

"That's enough from the peanut gallery." Hades snapped his fingers and chains appeared to bind Phil's mouth. He grinned at Xion and Roxas, showing his sharp teeth. "What I want to is to keep up my end of the bargain. And to do that, I need the two of you to stay put. So see these statues?" A glow enveloped Xion's statue, and then Xion fell to her knees with a gasp.

"Xion!" She was grasping her head and moaning in pain, but as Roxas moved to help her his statue began to glow too. His entire body felt like it was on fire and he fell onto the cold ground. "What is…" Fighting through the pain, Roxas clutched tightly at his chest. "What are…you doing…?!"

The glow vanished from the statues, and the pain faded from them soon after. Roxas and Xion both slumped onto the floor, panting heavily. Roxas struggled to glare up at Hades. His entire body was heavy and limp, and he imagined Xion felt the same. "What…did you…do?" Xion asked through labored breaths.

The statues dissolved into clouds and hades clasped his hands behind his back. "I made sure you two wouldn't be going anywhere, that's what. You're soulbound now, and you won't be setting one foot off of this world as long as I say so. …Now what do we have here?" As Phil struggled against his bonds, and Roxas and Xion struggled to climb to their feet, Hades sauntered over to the papers Phil had been working on as if the three of them weren't even there. "You're hosting the Games again? I hadn't even realized you'd rebuilt the Coliseum. Is that what this place is? Pretty impressive, I must say." He glanced around at the lobby, especially at the painting of Hercules on the ceiling.

Roxas continued to fight through the pain coursing through his body. He pushed himself up onto his feet, though his legs wavered. "Hades, right? Listen, we're not going to play your game–" Hades turned around and gave him a disinterested flick in the forehead, knocking Roxas down onto his back.

"Stop talking, I'm busy. The pain will wear off in a minute, pipsqueak." Hades used Phil's quill to scratch the side of his head as he started pacing about the room in a circle, looking between Herc on the ceiling and the paper in his hand. "You know what, I have just had a wonderful idea! You want to enter the Games? Oh, you'll enter the Games!"

"What are you talking about– ugh..aaaAAAGH!" Xion cried out in pain as a glow enveloped her body. The miniature statue of her had reappeared in Hades's hand and mirrored the glow around Xion.

"Stop! Stop hurting her!" Roxas shouted over Xion's distress. Her screams made him want to scream, to attack Hades then and there. He forced his body to respond and once more climbed up to his feet just as the glow disappeared from her. The glow around the statue transferred to the quill and it began moving of its own power, writing Xion's name down on one of the papers.

"HADES!" Despite his arms feeling like lead, Roxas called both of his Keyblades into his hands.

With shaking hands, Xion slowly pushed herself up off the ground. "Roxas…don't…"

Roxas barely took four steps before he froze in the air. His Keyblades clattered to the ground and he shot a glare at Hades, who now held the Roxas statue in his hand. As it had with Xion a glow enveloped both Roxas and the statue and then transferred over to the levitating quill, which wrote Roxas's name down on the other paper. Roxas dropped to the floor for a third time as the papers settled neatly down on the desk.

"So, now that I have your attention." Hades kicked the bound Phil aside, rolling him across the floor so Hades could stand where he was. "As I said, the two of you can't leave this world as long as you're soulbound. The term is literal: your souls are bound to those little figurines of mine. But here is our deal, are you listening? This is your out."

Hades gestured to the door leading outside, where the crowd still stood. They weren't trying to get in anymore though, not when they could see Hades clear as day. They had grown silent and were watching in hushed fear. "These people, the good folks of Thebes, they want a show. So we'll give them a show! Roxas and Xion, was it? If you two want to be free to run about all the worlds you want then you'll enter the Games, you'll win, and when your turn comes to fight Hercules…" He grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "You kill him."

Phil cried out, but his words were muffled by his chains. "You're insane!" Xion cried.

"And _you_ don't have a choice," Hades replied. He steepled his fingers and chuckled darkly. "That's the only way you're getting out of here. If you don't fight Hercules to the death, you'll just have to live out the rest of your days in Thebes. Sorry about that. But hey, at least it's a nice city, right? Better than Sparta, let me tell you."

And with that Hades disappeared in a cloud of smoke as suddenly as he had come. Roxas and Xion lay there on the cold floor of the lobby for some time as the pain slowly subsided and strength returned to their bodies. Xion was the first to manage to climb to her feet, perhaps because Roxas had to deal with Hades's attack three times while she did only twice. She hurried over to Phil and tapped her Keyblade against his chains, causing them to evaporate into darkness.

"Are you okay?" Xion asked.

"Am_ I_ okay? The question is are _you two_ okay?" Phil was frantic, his eyes wide and forehead coated in sweat. "You kids are stuck here unless you beat Herc, and trust me, that's not gonna happen!"

"Let's see if Hades was telling the truth before we panic." Roxas pointed his Keyblades forward and focused on what Terra, Aqua, and Ven had taught them. He called on the power within the weapon and a beam shot forth, forming a familiar bright gateway: access to the Lanes Between.

"Was Hades wrong then?" Xion's voice was quiet.

Roxas didn't respond just yet. He moved toward the opening to the Lanes and slowly stretched his hand through. Nothing happened. Taking a breath, Roxas walked through like he had done several times by now…

…And nothing happened. He passed through the portal and came out the other side as if it was just empty air, like the Lanes weren't even there. The portal closed after a moment and Roxas stared down at his Keyblades. "No, it looks like we really can't leave."

"Then we do have to enter the Games after all, huh?"

Phil rubbed his face and laughed weakly. "Well… Okay, okay. Everyone calm down." He was the only one panicking, though. Not that Roxas was comfortable with this at all, he wasn't. He just wasn't panicking. Maybe it hadn't set in yet. He exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Xion.

Phil was pacing. "Okay, alright. Right. Well!" He picked up the papers that Hades had signed for them and sighed. "Don't' worry, I'll try to find a way so you don't need to find Herc. But um, let's make the best out of a bad situation, alright? No reason you guys can't have fun in the Sora Cup anyway, yeah…"

"Sure! No reason we can't." Xion's smile was a bit forced, despite her reassuring words.

"I'll turn in this paperwork then. Um." Phil looked between the two of them. "The Games aren't gonna start until Herc arrives from Olympus tomorrow. Have you guys got anywhere to stay tonight?"

**x-x-x**

Seeing more of Thebes did lighten their spirits some. The sky was bright and the people were cheerful, even if most of the town gossip was about Hercules. Phil led Roxas and Xion to a large hotel in the city with a golden statue of a lion out front. The inside was, like Roxas's impression of the rest of the city, surprisingly modern despite its classic architecture. As Phil spoke to the man at the reception desk, Roxas and Xion examined the first floor's full-fledged casino, complete with card tables and fully functioning slot machines made out of marble and porcelain.

"This world feels almost like we're in a theme park version of ancient times," Xion said with a small laugh.

"No kidding." Roxas took a two samplings of cheese off a passing waiter's tray and handed one to Xion. "Are you doing okay?"

Xion shrugged. "I'm fine. I mean we're not in a great situation here, but there are worse places we could be right now."

"I guess so." Roxas shoved the cheese in his mouth and took a minute chewing before he continued. "Phil is right, let's try and make the best of a bad thing. The Games could be fun."

"Tonight we can try to work out a way to avoid fighting Herc too, if he's as strong as Phil says."

"You kids can worry about that tomorrow," Phil said, intruding on their conversation. He handed the pair a room key. "Listen, alright? I want you two to have a good time, because this is partly my fault for having those sign-up sheets out where Hades could see 'em. So tonight there's gonna be a fancy show down here at VII sharp. You can mope around in your room if you want, or you can come down here and relax a bit."

Xion took the key, a ceramic card with a painting of Herc's smiling face on the side. "We don't have any clothes but these."

"No problem. Your room comes with some options in the closet, just pick your favorite."

"Wait. Room, singular?" Roxas asked.

Phil side-eyed him. "You think I could afford two rooms? I'm not made of munny, kid! It's up on the fourth floor, but don't you two try anything funny because it's registered under my name."

Roxas was about to ask what Phil meant by 'anything funny', but Xion cut him off. "Thanks for everything Phil, really. We'll see you down here at seven."

"Hey, I'm looking forward to it. Have a good evening, kids."

With Xion in the lead, they climbed several flights of stairs up to the fourth floor and found their way to their hotel room. There wasn't too much too it, but it was nice. Small but comfortable, with a bathroom, closet, desk, and two beds. There was even a window door that opened onto a balcony with a great view of the city. As Roxas looked around the room, Xion opened the closet.

"Phil wasn't kidding, there's a bunch of suits and dresses in here!"

Roxas turned from a sundial he'd been examining to see Xion holding up two dresses, one white and one red. Immediately his face flushed; the white dress was backless, and the red had a dangerously low neckline. "Xion, I don't think those are appropriate–"

Xion tossed a tan suit at him. "Here, go in the bathroom and try this on while I get dressed." She put those two dresses back on the rack and started searching for another, and Roxas wasn't sure whether to be thankful or disappointed at that.

"Why do I get the bathroom?"

"Because girls need more privacy."

Roxas looked over at the large window leading toward the balcony. It made up nearly an entire wall of their hotel room. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Inside, Roxas! If you stay any longer and see something, you'll need to explain your black eye to Phil." She was already starting to pull her shirt up over her head.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Roxas rushed into the bathroom and shut the door as if Xehanort himself were on his tail. He set the tan suit down near the sink and stared into his reflection in the mirror. What were they doing attending a party? They should be invading Hades's home base and trying to get the statues and freeing themselves from Hades's contract. He shouldn't be going on a dat– da–

…

Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad to spend some time with Xion. Things had been 'go go go' ever since Ienzo called them back in Twilight Town. Even in Enchanted Dominion their downtime was limited. If he got one night off… That was doable. It was like his vacation back in the Organization.

He heard a thud outside, followed by Xion grumbling. "Ow! Stupid heels…"

With a sigh, Roxas started putting the suit on. A tan dress shirt with brown slacks and vest, and like everything else in Thebes it was this weird mix of ancient and modern. There were swirling patterns on the fabric similar to ones he'd seen on some Thebans' clothes. After a moment of thought Roxas decided to keep his bracelet and rings on, too.

Adjusting his collar to be more comfortable, Roxas knocked on the door. "Xion, are you decent?"

"Yup!" Well she sounded chipper.

Roxas opened the door and stepped out to see Xion waiting for him with a bright smile. She was in a purple spaghetti strap dress, much more conservative than either of the ones she had looked at before though Roxas made sure not to linger too long on the skin it did show. A thin, pale purple ribbon was tied around her waist, and a flower of the same color was held on the black choker around her neck.

"What do you think?" Xion asked. She brushed some hair behind her ear, and Roxas saw that she still had her charm bracelet on.

"You look…wow. Uh, sorry." Roxas coughed into fist. "You look good, Xion."

Pink creeped up Xion's cheeks as her eyes wandered up and down Roxas. "T-Thanks. You do too. So, um…" She shyly stepped up to Roxas. A sweet scent found his nose; was that the flower on her choker, or was she wearing perfume now? Would it be creepy to ask?

Roxas's eyes flickered to the sundial. "You read to go?" He rubbed the back of his head and then awkwardly held his arm out. Xion looked down at her feet, fiddled with the hem of her dress, and then quickly looped her arm around Roxas's as if she didn't want anyone to see.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They retraced their footsteps and found themselves back on the first floor, where the casino had largely emptied out. What stragglers remained directed the pair to a door at the far end of the floor. A man in a fancy suit was standing at a podium and letting attendees in, and when it came to Roxas and Xion's turn, Roxas looked up at him nervously. "Do we, um, need tickets?"

The concierge eyed the two of them strangely before smiling. "Ah, you're the couple that Hercules's manager told me of? He has already paid for your access. Your seat is at table sigma."

"Phil paid for us?" Xion looked at Roxas in surprise. "He didn't have to do that."

"We'll have to pay him back later. Hey, maybe with our winnings from the Games. Um, thank you, sir." Roxas nodded to the concierge and Xion gave him a little wave, and then the two stepped through the door.

The room was massive, just as big as the casino but not taken up by games. Instead the brightly polished floor was full of dining tables, each topped with a fanciful bouquet and plate of grapes for an appetizer. The walls of the room were lined with extravagant wreathes and flowers, gold statues stood in the corners, and torches every few yards provided a soft orange glow. But the most eye-catching part of the room was the stage. On the stage's back wall was a large stone mural depicting five women, each beautiful in their own way.

Roxas and Xion's reserved table was easy to find. Even if they hadn't been told it was table sigma, Phil was there waiting for them. "Well if you kids don't clean up nicely! So, what do you think?"

"This is a little higher society than I was expecting," Xion admitted. Her face shone with awe as she looked around the room. Phil pulled out her seat for her, and Roxas stood around awkwardly for a moment waiting for Phil to help him get seated too before he realized that wasn't going to happen. Embarrassed, he quickly got into his chair beside Xion.

Phil laughed and downed a cup of wine in one gulp. "Yeah, bein' pals with a celebrity sure has its perks!"

"What is yours and Herc's history anyway?" Roxas reached for one of the appetizer grapes as he asked his question. "All I know is you're his trainer, but is there more to it than that?"

Phil grinned slyly. "Kid, that is exactly what this show tonight is going to answer. The ladies have been putting together a little recap to celebrate Herc, Sora, and everyone else who've worked to save this city."

"What ladies?" Xion asked.

And then the torches lighting the room went out, plunging everyone into darkness and silencing all conversation. A band began playing upbeat music, and now some torches near the stage lit up to show off the mural. Against the firelight, it almost looked like the women engraved on the stone were dancing. Wait a minute… Roxas gasped and Xion clapped her hands in surprise as the women sprung to life. Color filled the grey stone and they began bopping their hips in time to the band's music. The one in the center bowed to the applauding audience and began to speak.

"We are the Muses, goddesses of the arts and proclaimers of heroes."

"Heroes like Hercules."

"Honey you mean _Hunk_ules! Woohoo, I'd like to make some sweet music with him!"

"Our story actually begins long before Hercules." As four of the five women started to hum, the apparent leader reached down and extended part of the mural to stretch over the stage like a red carpet. The music grew louder. "Many eons ago…"


	13. When in Thebes

**Chapter 13: When in Thebes**

_So don't lose hope when you're forlorn  
__Just keep your eyes upon the skies  
__Every night a star is  
__Right in sight a star is  
__Burning bright a star is born!_

A standing ovation accompanied the Muses as they performed the final song of the show, and didn't let up even as they all struck poses and turned back into stone on the mural. It didn't stop as the curtains fell, and neither did the music. When the curtain rose again a moment later, the applause grew reinvigorated. After all, the show hadn't just been the Muses singing some songs, it was a full musical production. As the stone Muses bopped their hips and hummed to the music, the actors that had played Hercules and all his friends and foes held each other's hands in a line and bowed.

"That was amazing, Phil! …Phil?" Xion looked to the third seat at hers and Roxas's table, but Phil was nowhere to be found. She hadn't even noticed him leave, she'd been so engrossed in the show. She glanced at Roxas who shrugged, just as unaware of where Phil had gone.

The curtain fell once more and the torches around the perimeter of the room were relit, signaling that the show was over. Excited chattering rose up as the attendees began talking amongst themselves about their favorite scenes and characters. After sitting back down, Xion turned to Roxas. "I don't know about you, but I totally get why he's a big deal now. What a hero!"

Roxas laughed. "Though I wonder how much the writers downplayed our friends' involvement."

Xion laughed right with him. "I dunno. Don't tell Aqua I said this but they may have _over_played our friends. I mean, fighting Hades and one of the Titans all on her own?"

Roxas grinned from ear to ear and pulled out his Gummiphone. "Yeah, you're probably right. But if she really did then she won't be happy when I tell her you doubted her!"

"Roxas!" Xion whined. She grabbed at his phone, but Roxas held it above his head and out of her reach. As if they were at home instead of at a fancy dinner, Roxas and Xion all but wrestled each other over the phone, Xion trying to grab it and Roxas trying to keep it away from her. It wasn't until Xion nearly fell out of her seat that the two realized exactly what they were doing and stopped – and then Xion grabbed Roxas's phone from him while he wasn't looking.

"Hey!"

"You better not let your guard down like that in a fight." Xion stuck her tongue out and gently tossed the Gummiphone back at him. "Here. This dress doesn't have any pockets for me to keep that in anyway." At mention of the dress Roxas's gaze flicked from her eyes down to somewhere a little lower. Xion felt heat rise up in her face, so she reached toward his phone again rather than let the moment get uncomfortable. "If you can't behave you don't get to keep your things."

"Alright, alright! I'll be good." Roxas held up his hands in defeat, and when Xion pulled her hand away with a giggle he pocketed his phone.

The conversations between the attendees about the show continued for some time, as well as small talk between Xion and Roxas – 'you look nice', 'the food is good', and so on. Xion picked at what was left of her dinner, and Roxas stole some cheese from the next table over whose occupants had already left. More and more people began to head out as the night drew on, but Roxas and Xion still didn't. Not without knowing where Phil went at least.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" The remaining attendees were called by a short figure standing on the stage. What was Phil doing up there? "I'm glad you all enjoyed the show, it was a real pleasure to work on behind the scenes, get some details ironed out. And I know we've all been waiting all day, but you all know the guy's busy. But I'm glad to say you don't need to wait anymore!"

Cheers and applause rose up again, albeit not as loud now that the room had mostly emptied out. Roxas tapped Xion on the shoulder. "Wait for what?"

Xion shrugged as she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. "I'm not sure."

Phil seemed to be providing most of the energy in the room; he was surprisingly upbeat despite the late hour. "Ladies and gentleman, the man of the hour! Back from Olympus, the mighty Hercules!"

The doors flung open for a man and woman to walk in, accompanied by applause. There was no mistaking the man, even if they hadn't just watched the play his face was plastered all over town. Hercules looked rather embarrassed at all the attention but the woman at his side put her hand on his arm and then he stood up straight and took it all in stride.

"Thank you, thank you. I'm sorry I'm late everyone, but it's great to be here. You all enjoy the show?" The audience cheered, and Herc grinned brightly. "I saw their dress rehearsal. It really is uh, something else alright. And I promise you more entertainment tomorrow at the Sora Cup!"

The crowds swarmed around Hercules, shoving his companion aside. But both of them took it in good fun, his ladyfriend watching with a smile and her hand on her hip as Herc gave autographs and shook hands left and right. Eventually his fans were pushed out by Phil and some security guards. "Yes, yes, we're all really happy to see Herc, but the champ needs his beauty sleep for the Games tomorrow. Thanks for coming, everyone. Good night!" Phil slammed the door shut and then slumped down to the floor and wiped his brow. "Oy…"

Herc laughed. "I know it's not exactly your comfort zone, but thanks for handling all this tonight, Phil."

Phil climbed back to his feet and pointed a finger up at Herc. "Hey, you owe me." He looked over to the sole remaining guests, Roxas and Xion, who watched quietly over in their seats. "Hey Herc, that's them. The kids I told you about when you got back. The ones Hades got to."

Herc's smile vanished. He looked over to Roxas and Xion, and they practically shrank beneath the weight of a true hero's gaze. He lingered especially long on Roxas, and looked almost…confused? But after a moment his smile returned and he walked over to them. "Hey there. I guess you know, but I'm Hercules." He held his hand out to Roxas. "You're participating in the Sora Cup, right?"

Roxas stood up and took Herc's hand, then almost lost his footing by the strength behind the handshake. "Uh…" He had to regain his footing before replying. "Yeah. I'm Roxas, and this is Xion."

Herc rubbed his chin. "You're the kid Phil trained a few months ago, right?" At Roxas's nod, Herc looked him up and down. "You know, you look like an old friend of mine. I actually thought you were him when I first saw you, but he'd be much older now."

"You mean Ventus?"

"Oh right, I guess you guys did see the show so you'd know about him." Roxas and Xion exchanged knowing smiles at each other. Then Herc asked, "So what did you think?"

Xion got up from her seat and held her hands behind her back. "It was real fun! If even half of it is true then you really a hero just like everyone says, Hercules."

Hercules rubbed his neck. "Oh, you're just saying that…"

The woman he'd come in with chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Wonderboy here gets all red in the face whenever someone brings it up. The guy just can't handle compliments."

"Oh, right. Sorry, we haven't finished introductions." Hercules took the woman's hand and turned to Roxas and Xion. "Roxas, Xion, this is–"

"Megara!" Xion practically jumped when she realized who she was talking to. "I loved you in the show– I mean– sorry, that sounds weird. You know what I mean!"

Megara smirked. "Just call me Meg, alright? And thanks; I'm glad to hear that girls out there know I'm more than just a pretty face." She looked Xion up and down. "You know, you're a pretty face too. Your boyfriend over there is a lucky guy."

Xion felt all of her blood rush up into her face at once. "Roxas isn't my– A-And I'm not…" She trailed off and glanced at Meg's figure before looking away. _Not like you, anyway._

Meg sighed. "Relax, Xion. I'm just teasing you." Then she turned whisper something into Herc's ear and he chuckled with a nod. Well that certainly didn't help Xion's embarrassment. She kept her eyes glued to her feet as she tried to hide her blushing face, but she could feel Roxas watching her.

Phil cleared his throat to get their attention. "Anyway, I think it's time we start addressing the chimera in the room. What do we do about Hades?"

Roxas coughed awkwardly. "Um, yeah. Right. I guess we can't just like, not participate?"

Phil sighed. "I wish it were that easy rookie, but no. You can't just drop out of the Games, because Hades's magic is binding. That's what the lightshow when he signed you up was all about."

Hercules crossed his arms. "He used those statues of his, right? We've dealt with them before. You're lucky he just bound you; if he wanted, Hades could have used them to strip your free will away entirely."

"They key is to break the darn things, but you have to find them first. Trust me, I know how they work from personal experience."

"And we can't exactly break them if we're busy in the Games, huh…" Roxas mused.

"Why don't I just drop out?" Hercules offered. But Phil admonished him with a slap on the leg.

"No way, champ! The people are watching this tournament for you above all else. Ya gotta give them a show!"

Meg put a hand on her hip. "Besides, Wonderboy, Hades's condition is killing you and not just participating in the Games. You dropping out wouldn't help Roxas and Xion at all."

Herc deflated, his shoulders visibly slumping. "I guess you're right."

Xion had been standing in an embarrassed sort of funk during the conversation, but now she slapped her cheeks to clear away her thoughts and finally spoke up. "Then we need to get our hands on the statues somehow. Could we just run in and grab it?"

"Hades already left Auron's statue unguarded before. I doubt he'll make the same mistake twice."

Suddenly, before they could discuss any further, something shook the entire hotel. The group went quiet as the building around them rang like it was a giant bell that had just been hit, and then Hercules broke into a run toward the doors.

"What was that?!" Phil shouted, chasing after him.

"Xion, let's go!" Roxas grabbed Xion's hand and started running before she could even register it.

"I'm coming!"

All of them hurried through the casino, past surprised and cowering guests and employees, and out into the streets of Thebes.

Phil grasped the sides of his head. "Oh come on! We _just_ got the city fixed up!"

The golden lion statue that had been outside the hotel was in ruins, scorch marks dotted the walls of other buildings, and holes had broken along the road. All around them the city, which was lit by torches and the full moon, was assaulted by familiar and unwelcome faces: Heartless. Rabid Dogs, Lance Soldiers, Hook Bats, and more.

Hercules knocked a Lance Soldier aside, and with one punch it faded back into darkness. "These are all breeds of Heartless that Hades kept in the Underworld last time I was down there. Which means…"

"Oh, I love the smell of chaos in the evening!" With a puff of smoke, Hades appeared standing on top of a building that was currently being assaulted by Rabid Dogs. "Hey there Jerkules, how you doing tonight? Feeling a little distracted, maybe?"

"Distracted? What are you up to this time, Hades?" Herc leaped the distance between them in a single bound and brought his fist down on Hades, but the blue-skinned snarker vanished right before he was clobbered. "Hades! Get back here and fight– uh oh." The building beneath Herc's feet rumbled and then fell apart, revealing a massive Rock Troll within it.

Sign of Innocence was already in Xion's hand. "Roxas, let's get going!"

"I'm already there!" Roxas darted forward aglow with white light, both Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his grip.

"Xion!" Phil called to her from the hotel entrance. "Are you seriously gonna go fight Heartless in high heels?!"

Xion came to a stop and glanced down at her feet for a moment. Then she looked over to Phil and Meg and grinned. "I did that every day for a year, so, you know. I suppose so!" And holding her Keyblade tightly, she ran off into the fray.

While Phil's jaw dropped, Meg watched Xion run off with a smile. "I like her."

"Thunder!" Xion thrust her Keyblade up and called on bolts of lightning to strike at a group of Hook Bats that were harassing Roxas, then spun like a dancer to avoid an attack from a Lance Soldier. She dropped to the ground when the Heartless swung at her again, then kicked her feet out and spun on her hands to knock both it and a nearby Rabid Dog aside. Not the easiest thing to do in a dress, but she managed. The Lance Soldier's lance went flying from its grip only to be caught by Roxas, who quickly tossed it back and impaled both Heartless at once.

With light coating his body Roxas darted across the battlefield slashing away at a variety of Heartless. He never stopped even once, striking Heartless left and right and always on the move. If something didn't fall in one or two hits then he sent bolts of gold and blue light out behind him from his Keyblades while he dashed toward his next target. He leaped into the air and grabbed a Hook Bat, then while it kept him airborne he spun it around and used it as a weapon against its fellow Heartless. Once he dropped back to the ground Roxas pivoted around to block an attack from a Rabid Dog, having it bite down on Oblivion instead of on him. With the dog's teeth caught on the Keyblade, Roxas flipped Oathkeeper around backhand and dug it into the Heartless's back. And then a large shadow fell on him.

"Roxas, behind you!" Xion cried.

For once Roxas was too slow. The Rock Troll's axe fell down upon him, but just before he was struck flat by it Hercules intervened. With just his bare hands Herc held back the massive Heartless's equally giant weapon. Even with the size disparity Hercules didn't struggle to hold back the Heartless; if anything, the Heartless was struggling to break free.

"Roxas, Xion, now! While he's stuck!" Hercules cried.

The two Keyblade wielders complied without a word. Roxas tossed Oathkeeper right at the Rock Troll's forehead and then shifted into particles of light and flew toward his weapon. When he was physical again he hung in front of the Heartless's face, leaving him open to swing as he pleased with oblivion. Meanwhile down on the ground, Xion moved with the grace of a dancer around its stomping feet, jumping into melee range to strike it with her Keyblade, then out to cast spells, and repeat. The Rock Troll swung its left fist at her and Xion threw up a Reflect, the magical counter from the impact knocking the Heartless off balance. As it stumbled Roxas kicked off its face and landed beside Xion.

"Herc, you ready?" Roxas called.

"When you are!"

Roxas's aura expanded to coat Xion and the two of them held their Keyblades out. Three thin beams of met halfway and crashed into the Rock Troll as a single lance of light. The Rock Troll recoiled, and combined with its lost balance its feet finally gave out beneath it. Herc, still holding tightly to its axe, lifted the Rock Troll high above his head.

"Get clear!"

They didn't need to be told twice, nor did all the Thebans who had been watching the fight. Everyone ran as fast as they could away from Hercules, but the mindless Heartless didn't get the memo. Herc spun round and round while holding the Rock Titan tight in his grip, and the massive Heartless easily mowed down all of its smaller comrades. When all that was left was the big guy, Hercules tossed it high up into the sky where it exploded in a burst of darkness.

Calm settled on Thebes once more, but though the fight was over they weren't done yet. Herc looked around at the damage. "At least it's localized just to this block, but… Man, we just fixed the city up from last time. I guess we better get to work." He started making his way over to a pile of lumber that was left over from the previous reconstruction.

"Hold it, Wonderboy." Meg grabbed Herc's hand. "The three of you have a big day tomorrow. Go get some rest. Phil and I can handle things here."

"Meg… No, I can't…"

Phil approached the four of them with his arms crossed. "Meg's right. Champ, you and these rookies will have to show the crowd your stuff tomorrow. You can't do that if you've been up all night workin' on construction." His face softened. "Look, your heart's in the right place. Any other time I'd agree with you. But people are still worried after the Titan attack, and they're gonna want to see the Games as a way to relieve their stress. It's good for morale."

"Phil…" As Herc considered it, Xion yawned into her hand. She had thought she was being as quiet and respectful as she could be, but everyone turned to her.

She gave a bashful smile. "S-Sorry. It's late."

Herc laughed. "Alright, you win. Xion, Roxas, you guys got rooms, right?"

"Yeah, Phil set us up."

"Then I'll see you at the Coliseum in the morning." He gave Meg a peck on the cheek. "Phil, don't let Meg stay up too late either."

Everyone said their goodbyes, and then Roxas and Xion returned to their hotel. Thankfully though the lion statue had been damaged, the interior was unharmed by the Heartless attack. As they ascended the stairs toward their room, Xion grimaced and thought back to Phil's question right before the fight, then reached down and pulled her shoes off. Oh that felt _so_ much better.

"Can't fight in heels after all?" Roxas asked.

"I _can_, but I think I'd prefer not to." Xion grinned. "Maybe I was just used to it in the Organization and didn't realize what a pain it really was until I started wearing better shoes."

Roxas opened their room and let Xion walk in ahead of them. "Well, you really did look nice in them." He rubbed his neck while he shut the door behind him. "Hey, Xion."

"Hm?" Xion was already starting to lower the straps of her dress, but stopped and looked back at Roxas. He stood in front of the bathroom just about ready to go inside and change out of his suit, but he clearly wanted to say something first. "What is it?"

"Xion, Meg wasn't wrong. You _are_ pretty, and don't you dare think otherwise. Okay?" Xion stared at him, almost not even registering what he had just said. Roxas's own words seem to catch up with him, and he quickly turned away and opened the bathroom door. "W-Well, goodnight!" He hurried inside and shut the door behind him.

Xion slipped out of the dress, but her thoughts were elsewhere; on Megara's words, and on Roxas's. She rested her hand on her chest, over her beating heart, and then looked up at her flushed face reflected back at her in the mirror. Was Roxas just saying things to be nice, or…? It wasn't something she had ever really thought about before, honestly. But then, she'd never really had a normal life before. And with the Organization behind her, it seemed that life had suddenly decided to start coming at her in force.

**x-x-x**

High atop a mountain peak, a cold stone cavern gave way to clouds and pearly gates. He looked in awe at the shift in environment before him, almost as if he had stepped into another world. Lauriam silently cracked open the gates to the Realm of the Gods, slipped inside, and then closed the gates behind him. If he was found here, he'd be dead. Deader than dead. But if Hades kept up his end of the bargain, then he was currently running a distraction back in Thebes so that the heroes would be none the wiser about this little intrusion on Olympus.

Swirling clouds of every shape and size decorated this place. They formed entire mountain ranges, including a towering peak with a temple on top that resembled a miniature of Mount Olympus. Something told Lauriam that was where Zeus lived, so he'd be avoiding it as best he could. But there was more to the clouds than just the terrain, even the buildings seemed to be made of them. Lauriam ran an inquisitive hand along a nearby pillar and watched as his hand passed through the seemingly solid surface, which wobbled almost like gelatin and broke apart into clouds. A moment after Lauriam left it alone, the clouds formed back into the pillar as if it had never broken in the first place.

If Hades was right, then what Lauriam was after was being kept in a hidden forge somewhere around here. It had been hidden on earth until recently, but then someone dug it up and left it lying around out in the open so Zeus had to find a new place to store it. Hades's bumbling minions had scouted out its new hiding spot, so now here under the cover of night Lauriam would be taking it. Stealing from gods… No pressure.

The Realm of the Gods was luckily rather quiet; it would seem that gods need sleep just as much as mortals did. Lauriam moved with equal parts haste and silence through the extravagant corridors and walkways, sticking to the shadows just in case. On occasion he would see a glowing guard on a flying chariot pass overhead, but they were always too far up above him to notice a former member of Organization XIII, the group that had turned remaining unnoticed behind the scenes into an art form.

He climbed stairs and traversed halls until he came to a wide aqueduct that fell into a pit with its depths hidden by clouds. A dead end? No – Hades had told Lauriam about this, had given him the precise location of the forge he was seeking. But here came the part where moving quietly would require finesse.

"What was that?"

Lauriam spun around, his heart skipped a beat. _Damn._ A blue glow was coming down the hall behind him, heading right toward him. Had he been spotted? If even the most minor of gods found him and alerted Zeus, it would be all over. Thinking fast, Lauriam summoned his scythe and struck at the nearby wall. It broke apart into its composite clouds and he dived inside, then the clouds reformed behind him and closed up the hole he had torn open. Within the wall, Lauriam opened it again just enough to peer outside.

The god who had come down to reach him was a short and thin man with blue skin, flying through the air via a winged cap and winged sandals. He scratched his head under his hat. "Coulda sworn I saw someone. Maybe Hephaestus got up for a drink, I guess." The god turned around and flew back the way he had come, and after waiting a moment Lauriam broke free of the walls.

He peered down the deep pit where the aqueduct's water was falling. That had to be the way to the forge, unless Hades was lying. And then Lauriam grimaced; he very well could be. Lauriam didn't trust him for an instant, and wasn't even sure he really even knew what the Final World was. Hades could be playing him for a fool… "But any chance I have is one I have to take…"

Wind accentuated with a pink glow swirled around Lauriam and he leapt off the cliff. As he descended the waterfall gave way to a fine mist that joined with the clouds surrounding him, blocking the bottom of the pit from view. His swan dive was slowed down by the wind and he flipped around to land on his feet, just in time to land on a polished surface. A great heat was coming from up ahead.

A great flame roared in a furnace, an anvil sat in the middle of the floor, and many cauldrons of molten metal hung from chains on the ceiling. This had to be the forge, it could be no place else. In the corner of the room was another god fast asleep in his chair, a portly man with maroon skin and a red beard. If Lauriam had to guess, he was Hephaestus. And beside Hephaestus was a purple and black box with a white skull serving as a lock.

"So this is it," Lauriam whispered. He held his hand out and Hephaestus glowed a soft pink. A sleep spell, just to be safe. When the glow faded Lauriam slowly stepped forward and picked up the treasure with care. "Pandora's Box."

If even half of what Hades said was true, he didn't want to actually open this up any time soon. He'd hand it over and then Hades would hopefully hold up his end of the bargain. As for what became of this world… Sometimes sacrifices had to be made to save those you love.


	14. Put the Glad in Gladiator

**Chapter 14: Put the "Glad" in Gladiator**

The sun filtered through the curtains covering the hotel room's wall-sized window, and Xion sat up in her bed with a stretch and satisfied yawn. She looked over to the bed beside hers, where Roxas was entangled in his sheets and had all but fallen off, but was still sleeping soundly. If something good came of the sudden chaos from the night before, it was that the two of them had gotten a good night's rest, the best they'd had since this whole thing started. Moving silently so as not to wake Roxas (both to be nice and because she um, wasn't exactly fully dressed), Xion slipped out of bed and into the bathroom to start running the bath.

It was a large bath, the kind that's deep and takes up the majority of the bathroom – a far cry from the shower at their apartment, or heaven forbid the barracks-like ones in the Castle That Never Was. Xion took her sweet time relaxing in the warm water and almost fell asleep again before she started hearing conversations on the other side of the locked door. How long had she even been in here? She'd lost track of time and hadn't even thought about much, just had been glad to relax for once. After climbing out, drying off, and getting dressed, Xion walked out to see Roxas, still in his pajamas, sitting cross-legged on his bed with his phone in one hand and a pastry in the other.

"Yeah, we're kind of stuck here until we figure things out– Oh, morning Xion!"

"Morning," Xion replied as she sat down next to Roxas on his bed. She glanced down at the caller on the screen, and a bright smile broke onto her face. "Axel!"

Lea gave a salute and a smile to match Xion's own. "Hey there, kiddo. Roxas filled me in on everything. How are you holding up?"

Xion absentmindedly tugged at a strand of her damp hair as she spoke. "We're managing. I'm not sure exactly what we'll do, but we'll do something..." Xion trailed off as she thought back to their conversation last night, and what she had seen in the show chronicling Herc's adventures. They needed to get their hands on Hades's statues somehow.

"Hey, say the word and I'll be there in the blink of an eye. Isa can handle things here without me."

"What, you don't trust us?" Roxas asked through a mouth full of bread. He swallowed before continuing. "We've been cornered plenty of times before. We'll find our way out of this one."

Lea laughed. "Believe me, I know how good you two are. But I also know you're both stubborn. I don't want you getting in over your heads."

Roxas took another bite of his breakfast. "Axel, we have a literal _god_ on our side!"

"Demigod, technically," Xion corrected. Then she frowned and looked at the pastry Roxas was eating. "Where did you even get that?"

"Room service came by while you were in the bath. He said it was complimentary with the room Phil got us. There's more over there." Roxas pointed over to a table across the room, where a plate with an impressive breakfast spread sat. Ooh, those eggs looked really good.

Xion slipped off the bed and started helping herself to some breakfast. She heard a growl from the Gummiphone, followed by Lea moaning. "You guys get fancy fixings and meanwhile I'm stuck with leftover pizza."

Roxas gasped in genuine offense. "You had pizza without us?!"

"And why are you complaining about that?" Xion asked from the table. "Pizza tastes best when it's reheated anyway. You're the one who taught us that."

"Because Isa ordered it so it was all vegetables. I need meat, man!"

The lighthearted conversation continued between the three friends for a while as Xion and Roxas finished breakfast, and then between just Lea and Xion as Roxas washed up and got dressed for the morning. By the time he was drying his hair and messing it back up, Lea was getting ready for work on the other end. Adjusting his uniform, Lea picked up his phone and stared dead into the camera, locking eyes with Roxas and Xion. "Seriously. Call me if you need me and I'll drop everything to fly over. I know you two can handle this but that doesn't mean I can't be there for you."

Roxas and Xion had twin expressions on their face, smiles a mix of happiness and sadness. "It really is nice of you to offer Axel, but we really can figure things out on our own," Roxas said in maybe the most serious and genuine tone of voice he'd had all morning.

"Besides, don't you need to get the rent money for this month ready?" Xion chimed in.

Lea rolled his eyes. "I wish the two of you hadn't grown up so quickly. Alright, I'll go to work. You kids stay safe, you hear me?"

"We've got it memorized, Axel. Talk to you soon." The screen went black and Roxas slipped his phone back into his pocket. He opened the door to their room and then turned to Xion. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah."

Down the stairs and out the hotel, into the lively city of Thebes once again. The damage from the Heartless attack was extremely localized compared to the Titans' rampage before the two of them had arrived, and so while reconstruction wasn't finished yet it was further along in a shorter time. Meg and Phil had really rallied the Thebans quickly…probably mostly Meg, honestly. Roxas and Xion journeyed to the Coliseum where, after checking in at the front desk, they were shuffeled into a back room where many competitors of all shapes and sizes waited for the Games to begin. Some mingled with each other, some got in some finishing workouts, and others just sat around making mean faces at each other. In one corner of the room was a familiar trio, and Hercules's face lit up as he saw Roxas and Xion approach.

Herc stood up and brought his hands down on their shoulders. "Glad to see you kids again! You sleep well?"

"It was the best sleep we've had in a while," Xion affirmed. She turned to Phil. "And thanks for paying for the breakfast Phil, that was really good too."

Phil snorted a laugh and swiped a finger across his nose. "Hey, you kids have three full days ahead of you."

Xion tilted her head. "Three?"

Megara, sitting on the bench next to where Herc had been before he stood up, chuckled. "I guess this is your first Games, isn't it? They're not done in a day, they're spread out. There's too many fighters to get so many matches in one day."

"Oh…" That made sense, actually. But Xion wasn't sure they had the time to stick around in one world so long.

"Especially this time," Phil said while tugging at his beard. "Previous Games have had a bunch of Heartless teams get signed up by Hades under our nose. But for the Sora Cup we've got fighters from all over Greece, and some from even further out. Of course, the fights Herc's in will all wrap up real quick."

Roxas rested a hand on his hip. "And mine and Xion's too, right?"

Phil eyed Roxas up and down. "Eh, yeah, maybe. You seem a bit more of a stick than in your last Games though, rookie."

Roxas's face flushed. "Hey! You saw me fight last night just fine!"

Phil smirked and crossed his arms. "It's none of my business what you do in your downtime, but maybe you should buy a set of weights or something."

Herc laughed. "Phil, that's enough teasing him. And I'm sure the competition will be just as much of a challenge for me as for everyone else. We've got some nasty-looking faces this time around."

Roxas calmed down from his embarrassment and looked around the room. Xion joined him. There were people of all shapes, sizes, and colors here, from big burly men with horned helmets and axes to dark-skinned women with spears and masks. And who knew what fighting styles or magics they could employ? All Xion really knew was fighting Heartless and the Organization. Battling just for fun could be, well, fun!

There was just one problem, though. She looked back to Phil. "So are we going to go up against Herc right away? I'd rather we have more time to figure out a loophole before then."

Meg was the one who answered her question. "Phil made sure the two of you are in an entirely separate block from Hercules. That means that you won't be seeing him until the finals, which is where the two blocks meet. We have three days to figure out what to do about Hades's soulbinding."

Xion let out a breath. "That's a relief."

Fanfare blared then, coming from somewhere outside, encouraging music made to get the audience pumped. And pumped they were, because the fanfare was accompanied by cheers from thousands of people. Herc clapped his hand together and looked to Xion and Roxas. "That's our cue! Time for the opening ceremonies, come on."

Large stone doors opened on the far wall of the waiting room and sunlight poured in. Herc led the way with Roxas and Xion right behind him, and the rest of the competitors following after. They emerged into a large, circular arena with seats absolutely overflowing with attendees. They cheered, they jeered, and they cried for all of the fighters as they entered the Coliseum. And of course the loudest cheers were for Hercules, who waved both hands to the crowd as they held up signs and merchandise depicting Thebes's hero. Not everyone was as built for the limelight as him, though; Xion felt her stomach drop at the sight of all those people. What if she messed up? What if she embarrassed herself? What if– Roxas's hand found hers, and Xion looked over to him. His smile was strained and he was obviously just as nervous as her, but his touch calmed her nerves. Somewhat.

The competitors came to a stop in the center of the Coliseum but the roar of the crowd continued and wasn't quieted until a bright light flashed fell from the sky like a lightning bolt and landed in front of Hercules with an echoing crash. When the dust cleared from the impact, a blue-skinned woman whose very body glowed with a heavenly light greeted them.

An announcer's voice called out over the hushed Coliseum: "Presenting Athena: goddess of wisdom, skill, and battle strategy!"

A god! And actual honest-to-goodness _god_ was only a few yards in front of them! Xion almost dropped to her knees, the only thing keeping her from doing so being that no one else was.

When Athena spoke, her voice resounded across the entire Coliseum as if she were using a microphone. "What is the measure of a true hero? It is not mere brute strength, or else my brother Ares would be standing here today, not I. What makes a hero is the desire to do what is right, to save those dear to you, and to protect those who cannot protect themselves." She gestured up to the sky. "Were it night, we would see three images in the stars above us: images of three heroes, one of whom has proven his strength of heart again and again in the service of our world and has so lent his name to these Games."

Athena turned from the crowd to the assembled competitors. "I wish for all who battle in the Games for the next three days keep the meaning of a hero in their minds during their matches. Conduct your battles with strategy and wisdom, not brute force, and show us all the heart of a hero that lies within." Then she turned back to the masses and raised her arms. "Ladies and gentlemen, Grecians and travelers alike, I bid you welcome to the Sora Cup!"

Applause rose up once again, not only from the crowds but from the combatants as well. Even Xion couldn't help but grin and clap; that was right, this was being held for Sora. She knew that but it hadn't even really hit her until that speech. This tournament wouldn't be happening without him; all these people were gathered here today because of him. He really was a hero, wasn't he?

Athena turned to Hercules and spoke quietly, so that her voice would not be heard by the entire Coliseum. "And on a personal level, know that your father and all of us on Olympus are waiting to see your victory."

Herc smiled. "It'd be nice, but let's not pretend it's a guaranteed thing."

Athena smiled. "And that attitude is why I've always liked you." With another flash of light she vanished, and the Sora Cup officially began.

The challengers were funneled back into the waiting room, but two were quickly called out for the first match: Hercules and a man with a bright red spear from somewhere far to the west of Greece. Herc opted for a sword, but it had nowhere near the reach of that spear, which his opponent demonstrated by constantly keeping him at bay; Herc was too far to attack, but the spearman kept cutting him with his weapon's razor edge. And the spearman had amazing reflexes too: if Herc tossed a rock or something at him, it would simply get swatted out of the air. But after this game of cat and mouse, Hercules came up with something that would finally work. To the crowd's confusion he bent his sword and tossed it, only for it to be avoided by the spearman…and then circle around back like a boomerang. As incredible as his reflexes were, he didn't have eyes in the back of his head. The flat of the sword knocked him out cold, and – as everyone expected – Hercules won the opening round of the Games.

Several more fighters came and went, and around noon Xion's first match came. Her opponent was a mountain of a man with a hammer as large as he was. Though Xion could easily outpace him his weapon swung wide and strong, and getting near wasn't an option. Luckily, spellcasting was a forte of hers. But when she called down a Thunder spell from the sky, the giant simply raised his hammer and its metal head called the lightning to it. With his weapon coursing with electricity he sent it flying toward Xion and it collided dead on, knocking her into the wall below the audience's seats. Without the hammer weighing him down the man moved faster than his size should have allowed, and moments before he reached Xion and his weapon Xion gripped onto the hilt of the hammer tightly.

Of course she couldn't even pretend to lift it, it was so much larger than she was. But she didn't need to – all Xion had to do was hold onto it for a bit. The man grabbed his hammer by the head and swung it around wildly, trying to get Xion to let go of the weapon. Her body was flung back and forth, this way and that, but her grip didn't falter. Eventually the man tossed his hammer back onto the ground and grabbed Xion around her waist, pulling her off of it himself. But he had taken too long, and Xion got what she needed. Bands of white nothingness circled around her arm and she thrust her hand into the sky. An exact replica of the giant's hammer appeared in the air, and he only had a fraction of a second to realize what he was seeing before it fell down and collided with his head. Xion broke out of the unconscious giant's grip and stood between two identical hammers as the astonished crowd caught up to what had happened and started cheering.

Hours and hours of fighting led to the final match of the first day, Roxas's. Fittingly enough his fight was against the backdrop of sunset, with the soft warm glow of torches lighting the Coliseum illuminating the field. His opponent was a man dressed in Spartan armor wielding – well how about that – two swords. Roxas and the soldier dashed at each other and the clang of metal rang out across the Coliseum. Slashes, dodges, jabs, and jumps followed as the two met each other almost blow for parries. Roxas grew frustrated at it quickly, and an explosion of light from his body sent the Spartan flying. Before he collided with the wall Roxas dashed behind him while aglow with light and then kicked him forward, knocking him to the floor in the center of the Coliseum.

The man recovered in time to block both of Roxas's Keyblades as they came down on him from above, and then replied with a kick of his own to Roxas's gut. But when Roxas was sent skyward, he hung there in midair instead of falling down. Roxas held his Keyblades together and then backflipped and held them out to his sides, and pillars of light began to rain down on the Coliseum. There was nothing the Spartan could do to counter, so all he could do was run and try to avoid Magic Hour. He didn't. One of the blue-white beams of light hit him dead on and he lost his grip on both swords. Roxas responded by dropping to the ground and performing a cross-slash across the soldier's chest, leaving visible marks on his armor. He collapsed in a heap while muttering that he surrendered.

**x-x-x**

And on and on the fights continued. Into the second day, and then past that. Roxas and Xion quickly became the crowd favorites, or at least second place behind Hercules. And on the second night as Xion soaked in the bath at their hotel room, she had to admit that despite the situation that put them here it was nice to put smiles on so many peoples' faces. To be wanted and valued for something by thousands was definitely an experience she would never forget. But there was a problem with all this progress, too.

Xion lowered her face further into the water and blew out frustrated bubbles. They were growing closer and closer to the finals, which meant closer and closer to the match with Hercules. And they needed to find a way out of their soulbinding deal with Hades before that happened. They just had until tomorrow night… Well, maybe if she took it one step at a time. The two of them had fights scheduled for the morning, and then the semifinals were after that.

…Wait. _Oh, no_.

Frantically Xion climbed out of the bath, not caring if she splashed water everywhere. She grabbed a towel and slammed the door open. "Roxas!"

Roxas nearly choked on the sandwich he was eating. He dropped his plate and threw his hands over his eyes. "Xion, put some clothes on!"

"Shut up, I have a towel. Listen!" She hurried over to a large paper on the wall that the two had made on the first night of the Games, one which charted out the tournament. Xion found her marker quickly and then ran her finger along the sheet until she found Roxas. _I knew it_.

"What is it?" Roxas finally got up and joined her side, his face still beet red.

"Look at the tree. If the two of us win our first matches tomorrow then we'll be facing each other in the semifinals."

Roxas's gaze moved from Xion to the sheet as he examined the spots she pointed to. His face fell, his expression one of disappointment. "Wait, you're right. But Xion, I don't want to hurt you."

Xion nervously bit at the nail of her thumb. They _would_ hurt each other if this fight happened. More than one of the competitors had been taken away unconscious, after all. "Yeah, me neither. But you heard Phil on the night of the show, we can't just refuse to fight, because of Hades."

A grimace coated Roxas's features. "If only we could break those statues…"

Yeah, if only. Xion continued chewing at her nail in thought and looked outside, at the thousands of torchlights decorating Thebes like stars. Her mind kept going back to a plan she'd suggested the night of the Heartless attack. Herc had shot it down, but… "I'll find them at Hades's base."

Roxas jumped and stared at her with eyes wide as dinner plates. "_What_?"

Xion placed her hands on her hips. "I said I–"

"I thought I heard wrong, and now I wish I had! Xion, Hades is keeping them in the Underworld! You know, his _home base_? And there's no way he'd leave them just sitting out in the open either!"

"What choice do we have? It's been three days and it's the only thing that any of us have come up with. Besides, you remember the show: it's what Sora did when Auron was in trouble!"

"It's exactly because that was done before that Hades would know to guard better!" Roxas's voice was rising, which made Xion a bit angry. Where did he get off trying to tell her to back down? This was the right thing to do!

"I'm not arguing this with you, Roxas. I'm doing it. I'll sneak through like we did Maleficent's castle, and I'll be out before Hades even realizes I'm there."

Roxas groaned and rubbed his temples. "I'm pretty sure Hades is more competent than Maleficent's goons, Xion!"

"It's what Sora would do!" Xion shouted. Roxas froze, and so did she; even she herself hadn't expected that volume out of her. Her shoulders slumped and then she hugged herself, feeling the damp towel beneath her arms. "He wouldn't even hesitate, and you know he wouldn't. Even if it meant getting hurt, he could handle it. And so can I."

Several tense moments passed between them without a world. Roxas rested a hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat. After several more seconds, he let out a quiet sigh. "…Okay. You're right." Roxas glanced outside their window, up at a constellation sparkling in the night sky. "So what's the plan?"

Xion smiled, truly thankful. "I'll go to the Underworld right after my first match, during yours. That way neither of us will miss a fight and go against Hades's binds. And I'll be break the statues before we or Herc have to fight each other."

Roxas nodded as she spoke. He glanced at the tournament tree hanging on their wall, looked thoughtful for a few moments, and then smiled. "Alright, if that's the plan then I'm for it too." Then a pause. His eyes flickered below her face for the briefest of brief moments, and then he turned away quickly. "Now _please_ put some clothes on."

**x-x-x**

And so night passed and the final day of the Games began. Xion and Roxas returned to the Coliseum and greeted Herc, Meg, and Phil, but didn't let on the plan. Xion knew they'd try to stop her, but she didn't have it in her to have another argument about this.

Her match leading to the semifinals was against a muscular woman wielding a spiked ball and chain. Once again her opponent wielded a weapon that made getting in range difficult, but this time magic wasn't a liability. With some Fire and Thunder spells, Xion cleared the battle and secured her place in the semifinals. She didn't get away without a few cuts and bruises, though.

In the waiting room, Phil was standing on a stool so he could clasp his hand on Roxas's shoulder. "Alright kid, your next match was the chick who won the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. She's even faster than you are and fights with a bow and arrows, so you're gonna need to come up with a new tactic than just zipping around."

"Any suggestions?"

"Unless you got some apples on you, no."

"Apples…?" But Phil had already run off to speak to Herc, leaving Roxas nothing but confused. Xion returned from the arena then though, so tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Roxas spared one look at her, standing in the back of the room with her hood up, and grimaced. "You're sure about this?"

"We went over this last night already. We don't have much else choice."

"I know. Just…be careful, alright?"

Xion smiled. "You too. Win this fight, and I'll break the statues before the two of us have to fight. I'll be back before you know it." The announcer called Roxas and his opponent's names, and Xion and Roxas cast one last glance at each other before Xion pulled her hood further over her head and hurried outside before she would be seen.

Would getting into the Underworld be a problem? No, because she already knew a way in. After all, they had seen a play showing their friends' previous adventures here. Though most of the Coliseum had been destroyed by the Hydra and then rebuilt, some of the original still stood. Even if the old courtyard wasn't used anymore it was still around, and on the far end were the large double doors sealed tight with a lock and chain to keep the common folk from wandering inside. But no lock could stop a Keyblade wielder.

Sign of Innocence fired its beam and the seal vanished. The doors slowly swung open to reveal a glowing staircase leading downward into the darkness. Xion took a breath to brace herself, heard the cheer of the crowd behind her as Roxas's fight began, and then continued her run into the Underworld. She was on the clock.

The atmosphere in the Underworld reminded her of the corridors of darkness by an uncomfortably high amount. It was as if the air itself was pressing down on her, weighing her body down. She felt incredibly heavy, like just moving her limbs was a struggle. Every color was duller, every sound was more muffled, and everything was so very cold. Xion rubbed her arms and watched as her breaths came out as faint mists. In the distance she could hear the constant sound of echoing screams, so faint that Xion wasn't sure if she was imagining them or if they were really there. She hoped it was the former.

She stepped off of the staircase to emerge in a vast, dark cavern. In front of Xion was a black river, with a brightly lit coliseum across it in the distance. To either side of her were roads leading to two large stone doors, one blue and one green. Well wasn't this just great? Sure she had seen a play about this, but it was just a play, they didn't go into details like what doors Sora had entered. It was a coin toss then, which door to choose? _Eeny meeny miny moe…_

Choosing the blue door, Xion made her way deeper into the network of tunnels and caves. A grey mist soon began to coat the floor, rising up to her ankles. As she ran further through the Underworld the temperature seemed to drop more and more, and the air grew damper as well. Xion found herself stopping to zip up her jacket to grab any warmth she could find. The mist at her feet was flowing forward like a river, and perhaps against her better judgment Xion followed it through the maze of tunnels, the only source of light coming from the occasional blue torch. She was so cold…

But then, a burst of heat. Xion threw up her hands and took several hasty steps back, back into the tunnel she had just emerged out of. What was _that_? Pausing for a moment to let her heart calm back down, she slowly peered back outside into the chamber she had entered. A stone bridge zig-zagged across a glowing green pit, and in contrast to the cold dampness of the rest of the Underworld, this place was like a furnace. Xion cautiously stepped outside and unzipped her jacket again, letting her body adjust more slowly than it had a moment before. Already she could feel sweat trickling down her neck and matting her hair to her face.

The mist had lifted from the floor and now faintly swirled around the large cavern. Xion avoided watching it, hopeful that those pained faces she thought she saw in the mist were just her mind playing tricks on her. Ahead of her, towering over this cavern, was a building formed of the same grey stone as the rest of the Underworld, carved into a shape vaguely reminiscent of a skull. If she were a betting girl, that would be Hades's throne room. She hoped so, anyway. She definitely didn't want to end up having gone the wrong way and needing to see more of this place.

She ran across the stone bridge as quickly as she could, even if her arms and legs felt like they were tied down by weights. What was up with this place? The sooner she left the Underworld, the better. When she crossed through the door at the far end and found another staircase, the temperature suddenly dropped to bone-chilling levels once again. And with the sweat formed from the last room, she felt even colder now. Shivering and zipping up her jacket again, Xion hurried upstairs.

"Thank goodness!" Xion cried in relief at the sight at the top of the stairs, and then leaned against the wall to rest. Yes, she had chosen the right door to take back at the beginning after all. In front of her was a large round table, atop which sat two familiar statues. Xion couldn't hide her smile as she approached the table, pushing aside the small purple box in her way and grabbing Roxas's statue.

_You earned the icing on the cake._

_How could he? How could that jerk attack you like that?_

_I am me! Nobody else!_

_Looks like my summer vacation is…over._

_Hands off my friends._

She grasped her head and the statue clattered to the ground. "What was _that_?" Some of the voices she heard were familiar… Roxas's memories? Well, no matter. Xion summoned her Keyblade, held it in both hands, and pointed it down toward the statue on the floor. When the beam of light from her Keyblade made contact with the statue it exploded into sparkles of pink and gold that lifted into the sky and faded away. Hopefully that did it.

"So next…" Xion reached for her statue…but it wasn't there.

"Looking for something?"

Xion's heart leaped and stomach fell. She whirled around with her Keyblade ready to find herself face to face with Hades, his arms crossed and her statue held tight in his bony fingers. "Hand that over to me!"

"Hand it over? What? It's my property, kid." Hades glanced at the spot on the ground where Roxas's statue had been. "You know, you could be charged with destruction of private property."

"I don't belong to you!" Xion dashed forward and swung at Hades with all her might, both hands gripping the Keyblade tightly…and she passed right through him like he wasn't even there. "What?" Xion looked at him in shock but quickly collected herself and launched a volley of Water spells. They, too, phased through Hades's form harmlessly. Xion's grip weakened on her weapon, and her arms felt heavy. What was going on?

Hades let out a dark laugh. "What? Don't tell me, was this little detail not in that stage show either? Kid, it's simple. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes! Comes with the territory."

A fireball knocked Xion against the wall and sent her Keyblade flying across the room. To her credit Xion quickly climbed up to her feet, but before she could call her weapon back into her hands her body froze up. A glow was coating her entire figure, and an identical glow was emanating from her statue in Hades's hand. "Hades!"

"Like I said, these little figurines are my property, my little blackbird. And if you're going to come and break my stuff, well…" He grinned wickedly, showing his sharp teeth, and then squeezed the glowing statue tightly. "Let the punishment fit the crime."

Xion fell to her knees and gripped her head as it throbbed again and again. Her body was being pressed down to the floor by an invisible force, her breathing was growing erratic, and her moans of pain were turning into cries. She could feel something, something familiar…and horrifying. Her mind was…slipping. Fading… Xion shook her head wildly as her nails dug into her skin, desperate to stop what she knew was happening. The cold, icy fingers of fear gripped tightly at her heart. No… Not again…

Hades's voice was distant. "Something tells me you're familiar with puppets."

Not…again…

* * *

_This chapter and the next were originally one, but since this chapter ended up longer than I anticipated I decided to split them up._

_Several (though not all) of the fighters in the Games were cameos from another series I'm a big fan of, Fate. As long as we were in a mythological setting with Olympus I couldn't resist. Hercules fought Cu Chulainn, Xion's second opponent was Penthesilea, and Roxas's second opponent was Atalanta._


	15. Hero to Zero

**Chapter 15: Hero to Zero**

The roar of the crowd had become a familiar sound to Roxas over the last few days, and even kind of welcoming. He and Xion had spoken before about how it was nice to feel appreciated by their fans – gosh, they had fans now! It was such a surreal thing to even think about, but they had absolutely made a name for themselves over the course of the Games. Even if they had been forced into this situation against their will, at least it wasn't all bad.

Though at this precise moment, Roxas was definitely _not_ having a good time.

Roxas held up both Keyblades as he protected himself from a literal rain of glowing green arrows. His opponent in the match before the semifinals was an archer woman who, as Phil had warned him, was even faster on her feet than Roxas himself was. And she apparently had magic to back up her archery, because by firing just one arrow into the sky she had caused a torrent of magical arrows to rain down upon him. The good news was that Xigbar had a similar attack and Roxas had sparred with him once or twice in the old days; the bad news was that he had never found a way to counter it, just to defend.

Even when the barrage had ended and you'd think Roxas would be free to charge in Keyblades swinging, he wasn't. The huntress fired volley after volley of arrows, keeping Roxas at a distance and keeping her away from his attacks. Not that Roxas didn't have ways to fight at range either, but… Well, the truth was he was kind of trying to prolong the fight. The longer this took, the more time Xion had to destroy their statues and free them from Hades. But he couldn't very well disappoint the crowd by just standing idly by, either.

Roxas spun his Keyblades out in front of him, sending spiraling bursts of blue and gold light out at his opponent. She avoided them by leaping high, high into the sky, showing off more of that remarkable agility. But by taking the time to avoid one hit, she left herself open to another. Roxas jumped up to meet her, she swerved in midair to dodge Oathkeeper, but then Oblivion knocked into her side. The huntress was sent hurtling to the ground, though righted herself and landed on her feet. Roxas followed soon after, charging toward her as she readied another arrow–

Roxas stumbled. His entire body went numb for a brief moment, throwing his balance off. He toppled forward and face-planted on the ground, his Keyblades clattering at his sides. But the numbness vanished as quickly as it had come, and when it cleared away he felt…good. He felt lighter than he had in days, like a weight had been lifted from him.

"Xion…" he breathed her name as he climbed back up to his feet and called his Keyblades back into his hands. She must have done it, she broke Hades's soulbinding.

Well then, time to wrap things up here.

The huntress took off in a dash as Roxas pursued her. She turned and shot arrows without missing a step, keeping him out of melee range. Roxas pointed Oathkeeper forward and shot a bullet of light out at her, striking her in the wrist as she knocked another arrow. Her bow went flying. Her head whipped back and forth as she looked from her weapon to Roxas, who had quickly gained on her, she swiftly grabbed an arrow and jabbed it into his leg. But though Roxas cried out, he kept through the pain and brought his Keyblades on the huntress, knocking her into the wall and out for the count. The crowd cheered as Oathkeeper and Oblivion vanished from Roxas's grasp, and he held up a hand to them while medics came to retrieve his unconscious opponent. She'd be okay, even if she'd have a heck of a headache when she woke up.

Back in the waiting room, Roxas fell back in a seat against the far wall and muffled his pained shout as Phil pulled out the arrow from his leg. "That was pretty great rookie. So you're all set up for the semifinals now."

"Yeah." A soft green glow enveloped Roxas's hand and he held it over his leg as Cure mended the wound. He'd still be sore there, but at least it wouldn't be open.

Phil tossed the arrow into a nearby bin and then looked around at the room. It was emptier now, with just a few competitors who still lingered after their matches were over. "Speaking of which, where is Xion?"

Roxas glanced aside. "Not sure."

"Kid…" He wasn't looking at Phil, but he could _hear_ the crossed arms in his voice.

"Phil I don't need to babysit her." Two hands clamped down on Roxas's cheeks and he was forcefully turned to look Phil in the eyes. Phil leaned forward dangerously close, until Roxas could smell his breath. Smelled like grass, ew.

"You're a terrible liar, and it's making me suspicious. Roxas, where did she run off to?"

Roxas winced again; not in pain this time, but at Phil's' words. Was he really that obvious? Roxas hesitated, but maybe it was better to just rip the bandage off. "…The Underworld. To break the statues."

"WHAT?!" Phil's shout turned heads and practically shook the room. Phil glaring daggers turned them away, and then he grabbed Roxas by the wrist and pulled him into a side room. Once the door had slammed shut behind them, Phil started shouting again. "The _Underworld_?! That's insane! She can't fight down there without the Olympus Stone! Kid, that's unbelievably dangerous!"

Yeah, well, Roxas had known it was dangerous, but something Phil said caused a pit to form in his stomach. "What do you mean she can't fight?"

Phil stared at Roxas incredulously. He turned around and rubbed his temples while muttering to himself. "I'm too old for this… Okay. Listen! The Underworld is Hades's home turf. It's as evil as he is. For good guys like you and Xion, and even Herc, you're completely powerless in there without something called the Olympus Stone."

"What?!" Roxas grabbed Phil's shoulders. "I didn't– We had no idea! Phil, how were we supposed to know that?!"

"It didn't come up because I thought you'd be smarter than to even try a stunt like this! Oh, kid…" Phil pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "What were the two of you thinking?"

Grimacing and rubbing his arm, Roxas looked to the side. "I tried to stop her at first, but she said…it's what Sora would have done…"

Phil's shoulders fell. "Yeah, it probably is. But that doesn't make it any less stupid, Roxas! I gotta tell Herc, we gotta get the Olympus Stone from Zeus." Phil swung open the door to the waiting room…and he and Roxas were face to face with Xion.

"Wha?" Phil stared at her, and she stared back at him. Her hood was up, but she didn't seem injured at all. "Xion?!"

"Xion!" Roxas ran past Phil, accidentally shoving him aside, and took Xion's hands in his own. "I felt you destroy the statues. I'm so glad you're okay! See, Phil? She's fine!"

Phil rubbed his head and looked Xion up and down with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. Looks like. Well, just in time I guess. The match starts soon, yeah?"

Roxas shook his head. "No, we don't have to worry about that! If we're free from Hades now then we can just drop out. Come on Xion, let's go to the front desk–"

"No, I'd like to fight." Xion cut him off quickly. She tilted her head up to look at Roxas from beneath her hood, her lips turned up in the slightest of smiles.

"What? Xion, the whole point of going to the Underworld was to avoid this." But Xion slipped out of his grip and made her way toward the door to the ring. What was up with her?

Phil stepped up beside Roxas and tugged at his beard. "Well as long as you're not being forced into it, I guess I don't see the harm. You?"

Roxas stared off after Xion. "I…guess…?"

"Then let's get out there, rookie. Come on, your public awaits."

Back out into the ring it was, then. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky a beautiful shade of orange. Applause and shouts rose up around them as two of the crowd favorites got into their places on opposite sides of the ring. Xion's hood was still up and her Keyblade was at her side. Roxas scratched the back of his head, still confused. She'd barely said a word.

"Hey, Xion," he called over to her as they got ready. "Are you sure you're okay–" The bell rang to signal the start of the match, and Xion dashed toward him with such startling speed that Roxas barely had time to get Oathkeeper out to block her attack. Her Keyblade pressed down on his and he fought to keep her from breaking his footing from the pressure. "What's gotten into you, Xion? I felt you break the statues! You know we don't need to do this anymore, at least not so seriously!"

Oblivion manifested and Roxas swung at Xion, albeit reluctantly. Xion jumped back and replaced her Keyblade with the familiar sight of Lea's chakrams. The replicated weapons lit aflame and she tossed them at Roxas, twin wheels of fire hurtling toward him at full speed. Of course he had seen Axel fight enough, and even fought him enough himself, to know how to deal with those. Roxas knocked the chakrams aside with ease, only to find that they were a distraction – while he had focused on them, Xion tossed a bolt of yellow straight at him. Roxas barely had time to pivot out of the way as one of Larxene's knives passed inches past his throat. It suck into the far wall and then exploded in a burst of electricity.

Roxas stared at the wall in wide-eyed shock. Wordlessly, his hand flew to his throat, his fingers brushing his skin. That hadn't been an accident, Xion had known what she was aiming for. He whirled around again just in time to block an attempted surprise attack from his hooded friend. "Xion, what is _wrong_ with you?!"

They struggled against each other once more, and Xion continued not to say a word. She thrust one hand into Roxas's gut and cast Fire, knocking Roxas back with a point-blank explosion. His cries were more of shock than pain, and even then there was still a fair bit of pain. Needless to say, Xion was acting very uncharacteristically. But there was one other time that Roxas could remember her acting similar to this, and–

No time to think! Xion charged at him again, and once again they locked blades and struggled to push the other away. What was Roxas supposed to do? He didn't want to hurt Xion, but he didn't exactly want to be hurt himself, either. When Xion's Keyblade transformed in a flash into Isa's claymore, Roxas suddenly found that he couldn't hold back the weapon any longer. Xion broke through his defense, but Roxas rolled aside just as the Claymore came crashing down and cracked the stone floor of the stadium. That could have been his head! He had to find a way to restrain her and figure out what was going on.

"I'm sorry about this, Xion!" Roxas pointed Oathkeeper forward and shot a bolt of Blizzard out from the tip. The ice froze her feet to the ground…only to be shattered and melted by a swing of Lea's burning chakrams which then quickly swapped back to Isa's claymore. Roxas dodged again as she charged at him and swung. This time the impact of her weapon sent out an expanding ring of blue flame and Roxas took to the air, leaping high to avoid it. Xion ran at top speed after him, continuing to slam the claymore around and release more flames.

**x-x-x**

On the sidelines, Phil watched the battle with concern. Xion was uncharacteristically relentless in her attack, and Roxas was obviously seeing something wrong as he kept calling out to her. She'd been in the underworld, huh…? Roxas said he had felt their statues break, but the way Xion was acting sure did make Phil suspicious.

"Oh, the semifinals have started?"

Herc and Meg stepped out into the twilight, stopping beside Phil to watch the battle. Herc rubbed his chin. "Wow, Xion sure is giving it her all despite being forced to fight her friend."

"That's the thing, she's not," Phil replied. He tugged on his beard. "The kid said she _wanted_ to fight Roxas, once she got back."

Meg crossed her arms and spoke to Phil without taking her eyes off the match. "Back from where?"

Phil sighed and shook his head. He slowly pulled his eyes away from the match to look up at Herc. "Would you believe the _Underworld_, apparently?"

"What?!" Herc and Meg both turned to Phil, forgetting the fight completely. "Phil, pull the other one!"

"Trust me, I _wish_ I was just joking. But that's what Roxas said. Those two nimrods came up with a stupid plan to break Hades's control over 'em; Roxas says he felt their statues break, but then Xion showed up acting all weird and insisting that she wanted to have their fight anyway."

"Those idiots…" Meg muttered. "Then you realize what happened, don't you?"

Herc grimaced. "Yeah, I thought this looked familiar. This fight, the way Xion is moving, how she's dead silent, it's all reminding me of my own match with Auron. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." He looked back down at Phil. "Phil, we need to intervene! This match has to stop before Roxas gets killed!"

"I'm with you, champ, but I don't think a referee's whistle is going to get Hades to stop."

Herc stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. "Then I guess I'll be taking things into my own hands."

"Oh will you, now?"

Hercules whirled around and forcefully ran in front of Meg and Phil as a puff of black smoke appeared in the doorway. Hades appeared with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. In his hands was a familiar figurine, one that confirmed their worst fears.

"What do you want now, Hades?" Herc asked. "Leave these kids out of our back and forth!"

Bearing his teeth with a grin, Hades held the statue up and gestured toward Roxas and Xion as they continued their one-sided fight. "The little blackbird has quite an arsenal of weapons, if you haven't noticed. It might be just as dangerous for her well-being as it is for her enemies'."

Meg grit her teeth and stepped forward, only being stopped when Herc put a hand in front of her. Even then, she still glared daggers at Hades. "If you harm one hair on her head–"

"Me? _I_ won't be hurting anyone. Come on, don't you think better of me than that? After all we've been through?" Hades let out a dark chuckle and held up the statue to demonstrate it to them. "No, not me. But if you try to do anything to stop the fight between those Keyblade kiddos, well, I'll just give Xion the order to turn her Keyblade on herself, and..." He traced one of his bony fingers across the figurine's neck. "It'll be done in an instant."

Herc felt the blood drain from his face. He wouldn't… That was coldblooded, even for Hades. "You're bluffing."

"I don't make empty promises, Wonderboy. Xion is going to win this fight and then take you out, and if you try to stop it, then her blood is on your hands."

**x-x-x**

Roxas quickly leaned back, narrowly avoiding being sliced clean in two by Marluxia's scythe. He wasn't stupid, he had realized what was going on here. After all, there was one other time that he could remember Xion acting like this. Like an empty puppet, bereft of control over her body. His heart ached at those memories seen through Sora's eyes, of his best friends fighting each other among the ruins. But he had freed her at the Keyblade Graveyard, and he'd free her again here. She just had to be stopped first, before one or both of them were seriously hurt.

The next time Xion's Keyblade came down, Roxas didn't block it. He grabbed the weapon in his hand and held tight even when she tried to pull it away. "Don't do this."

Beneath the shadow of her hood, Roxas could see Xion's mouth form into a snarl. She grit her teeth and, while still trying to pull her Keyblade out of Roxas's grasp, thrust her free hand out to her side. White strands of nothingness began to spiral down her arm and coalesce in her palm; she was replicating another weapon. Roxas called Oblivion into his own free hand and held it to Xion's neck just as Dark Riku's Soul Eater was pressed to his. But unlike Roxas, Xion wasn't bluffing. The razor edge of that bat wing-shaped blade brushed against his skin, gently, but enough to draw a trickle of blood.

Quickly, Roxas struck at her wrist with Oblivion, causing her to drop Soul Eater. As it faded back into nothingness, he took advantage of Xion's momentary surprise to tug her Keyblade out of her grasp then took hold of its hilt. With Sign of Innocence and Oblivion both held by Roxas, Xion once again called on Lea's chakrams. She tossed one at Roxas while dashing at him with the other, spinning like a dancer to strike him multiple times with the circular weapon. When the second chakram returned to her hand Xion slammed both of them onto the ground and conjured a pillar of fire that erupted out at Roxas's feet, scorching his body and sending him flying.

Roxas righted himself in the air and once more shot Blizzard spells at Xion's feet. When she attempted to strike them with her chakrams, Roxas darted at her before she had the chance and slipped both Keyblades through the holes in her weapons. He tugged them away from Xion, dismissed the Keyblades, and tossed the weapons aside where they then faded away. Before Xion could replicate another pair he grabbed both her wrists and pinned her arms behind her back.

Xion struggled against his grip, but Roxas held fast. "It's all right! You can stop now! It's all right, Xion!" He was being very purposeful in his word choice; if this had worked before, it could work again. Xion's struggling did slow, but it didn't cease. Careful not to release his hold on her wrists, Roxas looked back over his shoulder. "Hey Phil–"

His breath caught in his throat. Hercules and Megara had joined Phil on the sidelines, but they weren't alone. _Hades_. His eyes locked on the object in the god's hand – Xion's statue. He knew for a fact he had felt her break his, but apparently she had been caught then. Roxas's heart fell, and his grip loosened ever so slightly.

"This is all my fault…" He was the reason that Hades captured her. He should have done something. He should have been more insistent that Xion not go to the Underworld. Oh, God, why did he give in so easily when she brought up Sora?

…No. This wasn't his fault. He let her go because he had faith in her. The person to blame was standing there with a wicked grin on his vile face.

"HADES!" Roxas let go of Xion and dashed toward the god, Oathkeeper and Sign of Innocence flashing into his hands as he moved. He leaped off the ground and crossed his Keyblades together, ready to chop Hades's head off, but his attack was intercepted by a massive blue and silver sword. Xion, still under Hades's control, protected him from Roxas as once more Keyblades clashed against claymore.

"Kid, look out!"

Phil's warning came too late for Roxas to take heed of it. With a dismissive flick of his fingers, Hades sent a massive fireball the Keybladers' way. Xion jumped away just in time, leaving Roxas to take the full impact, and before he had recovered she jumped right back into the fight and slammed the claymore hard against his side.

"Xion, stop!" Roxas shouted, shooting bullets of light out the tip of his Keyblade toward Hades. Xion intercepted them again, now aglow with a vile pink aura that mimicked the one that had grown around the statue.

Hades chuckled, and when Hercules tried to punch him from behind he vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared a few feet away. "What did I tell you about interfering, Blunderboy?" He gripped the statue tighter, and the glow shifted from pink to black as it overflowed with the power of darkness.

The aura around Xion did the same. She grabbed her forehead and wobbled for a moment as if she were dizzy, and then when she regained her footing she swapped the claymore for Soul Eater.

Panic clear in her voice, Meg called out over the battlefield. "Roxas! Keep those weapons out of Xion's hands, Hades is going to make her kill herself!"

"_What_?!" Roxas felt himself chill to the bone, and he saw Xion bring the sword up to her neck. Mentally apologizing to her, he fired a bolt of light from the tip of Sign of Innocence and hit her wrist dead-on, knocking Soul Eater out of her hands. But she simply replicated another copy of it and started trying again. "Herc, get the statue!"

"I'm on it!" As Roxas grappled with Xion, desperately trying to keep her hands away from herself, Hercules tackled Hades only for Hades to teleport a few yards away again. When Herc tried a second time, Hades simply teleported once more.

"Jerkules, please, who do you think you're dealing with?"

"Who do _you_ think _you're_ dealing with?!" Phil shouted as he delivered a powerful headbutt to Hades's legs. Hades winced in pain and doubled over, giving Herc the opportunity to deliver a powerful punch that caved the wicked god's face in. He screamed in a mixture of rage and pain, and while he was distracted Megara snagged the statue from him.

"Roxas!" With all her might, Meg tossed the statue into the battlefield.

"NO!" Hades screeched.

Roxas gripped Xion's wrist so tightly that if she were in her right state of mind she'd probably cry out in pain, but it was a necessary precaution: the tip of Soul Eater was only inches from being thrust in her chest. Her puppeted hand tried to bring it down and finish the job, but Roxas wasn't letting up. And he heard the others' success and Hades's frustration just in time to reach up and grab the statue from the air.

_Roxas…is your name._

_So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?_

_This is the place I come from. I just know it._

_You're both my best friends. Never forget. That's the truth._

Xion's memories surged through Roxas's head and he fought through the pain. Jerking Xion's hand back away from her chest, he directed it and her weapon down onto the statue. The figurine and Soul Eater both exploded into bursts of darkness upon contact with each other, and then sparks of light flew out from the remains and into Xion. Immediately Xion stopped struggling, but it was replaced instead by a horrific scream that brought the entire Coliseum into dead silence.

Xion grasped at her head and screamed in fear and pain, and then collapsed to her knees as the screams gave way to choking sobs. She sat there in the middle of the Coliseum, shaking, sobbing, her arms wrapped so, so tightly around her. Roxas didn't even hesitate; he immediately dropped down beside her and wrapped her in a hug. But that didn't stop her crying. How could it? Her greatest nightmare had been brought back to the forefront. Her body had been stolen from her; once again she had been used like a puppet.

"It's okay, it's okay…" Roxas whispered as he tightened his hug. She kept crying, her breaths heavy.

On the sidelines, Hades raged. He clawed at his face and spouted furious gibberish as his skin and flaming hair shifted from blue to red-hot. "Blast! Blast it all! Rrgh…" His skin shifted back as his temper cooled down, or at least bubbled beneath the surface. He was still clearly furious. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. The key kids killing Jerkules was just icing on the cake. I've got an actual plan coming down the pipeline."

Hercules scoffed. "What could you have that we can't stop at this point, Hades?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? See you tonight, losers!" In a plume of smoke and fire, Hades disappeared with mocking laughter.

That was certainly ominous, but Roxas couldn't bring himself to care. Even now, Xion still hadn't stopped crying. He gently rocked her as he held her tighter, but nothing was helping. She hadn't even said a word yet. It wasn't until Meg put a gentle hand on his shoulder that Roxas even looked up from Xion.

"Why don't you go get some rest?" Meg asked. "Both of you." She handed him a handkerchief, and only then did Roxas realize he was crying too. He took it with quiet thanks and dabbed at his tear-stained cheeks.

"I'll take Xion back to our hotel. But we're not leaving town. If Hades is up to something, I'm going to help you stop him. And Xion will want to too, I'm sure."

"Whatever you want," Meg replied with a warming smile. "But for now, rest. Xion will be okay, Roxas. Something tells me she's a strong young woman."

Roxas looked back to Xion and gently ran a hand on her cheek. She didn't even react. "Yeah… She is."

**x-x-x**

The walk back to their hotel was slow, and silent save for the soft sounds of Xion's crying. That hadn't let up even if it had eased up, and though she was aware enough now to walk she still hadn't spoken a word. Xion sat on the bed with her legs curled in and her arms hugging her knees, while Roxas stood on the balcony and leaned on the railing. His Gummiphone was in his hand, its empty screen taunting him. He had to call Lea, he deserved to know what happened, but Roxas didn't want to go through that conversation… Not when he was the reason it happened.

"Some hero I am. What a joke," Roxas said with a grim, self-deprecating chuckle. He looked up at the stars, all bright and twinkling like nothing was wrong, and his eyes fell on a certain constellation. "You always were the better of us, weren't you, Sora? That's why you were the one everyone counted on, not me. You wouldn't have let this happen to her – to anyone. Not like I did…" He sighed and stared down at the city below. "I'm a terrible friend."

"That's not true." Roxas jumped and whirled around to see Xion standing in the doorway. She rubbed at her red, puffy, eyes and sniffled a little bit, but she wasn't actively crying anymore.

"Xion, are you okay?" Roxas took a few steps toward her, and then she quickly closed the rest of the distance and tossed her arms around him.

"Roxas, you're not a terrible friend. You're a _great _friend. The best I could ever ask for. I don't deserve you."

"Now who's telling lies?" Roxas pulled away so he could look Xion in the eye. He brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Xion, you deserve the world. Why would you ever think otherwise?"

Xion averted her eyes and gnawed on her lower lip. "Because I'm weak. I'm useless." Tears started to well in her eyes again, and she sniffled as Roxas gently wiped them away. "I messed up. I got captured, and I fought you, and– and– Oh, God, Roxas, it was the Keyblade Graveyard all over again. I couldn't control myself, my heart was being swallowed by darkness again, my body w-wouldn't listen to me… I'm a failure, I'm a mistake! I… I…"

Before she could break down again, Roxas once more pulled her into a tight hug. He pressed his hand against the back of her head and let her cry into his shoulder. "You're not weak, Xion. You're not useless. You're not a mistake. You're the strongest person I know! Who else could go through everything you've been through and come out on their feet? I couldn't." When Xion's sobs had quieted, he ran a hand through her hair. "Please, please don't hate yourself. You're strong. You're strong, and wonderful, and good."

Xion hugged Roxas tighter and then slowly pulled away. "…Thank you, Roxas. Thank you for always being there for me, when I need it most." She paused as if thinking something, then brushed some hair behind her ear and stared down at her feet. "Um… What you said the other night, about me being…pretty. Did you mean that?"

Roxas's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. And for maybe the first time, he really, truly looked at her. At the way her black hair framed her face, at the way her pale skin and pink lips looked in the moonlight, at her shining blue eyes reflecting the stars. "…Of course I did," Roxas said softly, half unbelieving that she ever doubted it. "You're beautiful, Xion."

If Xion gasped or if he was just imagining it, Roxas wasn't sure. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled herself up to him, and Roxas rested his forehead to hers. Xion closed her eyes, content, but Roxas couldn't bring his own eyes off her soft lips. He leaned in, she opened her eyes a crack and did the same…

Roxas closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Let's get some rest, Xion. Hades isn't done yet after all."

Xion caught herself. "Oh…right." Was it the torchlight, or was her face pink? Was it because of the torch that Roxas felt hot? When Xion slipped her hands off of Roxas's neck, Roxas caught one of them in his own. He intertwined his fingers with hers and brought her hand up so they wiped away her tears together.

"Always remember, Xion. You're strong and beautiful, and that's exactly what I love about you. Never forget. That's the truth."

* * *

_Fight scenes are my weakness, and as such I hit a brick wall while writing this chapter. The final scene was actually the first thing written just because I wanted to put off writing the fights as long as possible._

_On another topic, I've gone back to old chapters and retconned a minor thing: Xion's clothes that the fairies gave her. Now she's wearing a beautiful design by itporl on twitter: /itporl/status/1060605333121318913 And of course as with Xion's old outfit, it was used with permission._


	16. What's in the Box?

**Chapter 16: What's in the Box?**

On the plains outside Thebes, under the cover of night, the man in the hood met with the Lord of the Dead.

Lauriam watched with trepidation as Hades silently fumed. Whatever had happened at the Coliseum it clearly hadn't gone well, and Lauriam knew better than to risk himself when Hades was in a mood like this. Their last few days of working together had made the god's hair-trigger temper quite clear.

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose and took several deep breaths while muttering to himself. "Okay, okay, it's fine, we're cool. We're good."

The red flames died down to blue. Lauriam was tempted to keep biting his tongue, but the box in his hands was all but burning a hole through his gloves. "The incident with the Keyblade wielders was just a favor between friends anyway. I'm the one who asked for it, and I understand this derailing was beyond your control."

Hades shot him a glare. "Watch your words, bub. _Nothing_ is beyond my control."

"…As you say. Now what do you say we get to the meat of our deal?" He held Pandora's Box up, offering its skull-decorated contents to Hades. "I got you the box, and now you will get me…"

"Yes, yes, I know. I always know the terms of my agreements, you weed." Hades all but snarled as he swiped Pandora's Box out of Lauriam's hands. "Once Zeus is gone and Mount Olympus is under my thumb, I promise I will send you to the Final World. I swear to me. God's honor. But I may need a little extra, eh, backup. I can command the Heartless, but even their numbers along with the box's contents may not be quite enough."

Beneath his hood, Lauriam pursed his lips. "What are you getting at?"

"I did you a solid with those Keyblade brats, even if it went south. Now you do me another one. You've got the stench of those white husks all over you, you know." He pinched his nose and waved his hand in front of him. "Blech, smells like old rubber."

Lauriam hesitantly brought his sleeve up to sniff the black coat, but stopped halfway through the motion. "You're saying you want the Nobodies to join you in this attack on Thebes?"

"Well, unless you don't want to go to the Final World after all…"

His heart beat frantically. _No_, he couldn't lose this chance! Hades's every whim had to be met if Lauriam was to have any hope of a reunion through these methods. Keeping an outer appearance of calm, Lauriam snapped his fingers. The response was instant as myriad shapes of white and silver popped up out of the nothingness around them.

Hades chuckled. "Dusks and Creepers and Dancers, oh my." He turned his attention back down to Pandora's Box and fiddled with the lock as the Nobodies waited patiently and silently, their forms swaying back and forth. Lauriam rolled his right hand into a fist, desperate to calm his nerves. If Hades couldn't get it open after all this, then what? His temper may flare up once again.

But Lauriam needn't have worried. The lock came undone and the box opened a crack, releasing a black fog all around it that gently fell to the ground like a waterfall in slow motion. Hades chuckled as he peered through the open crack. "Oh this… This is good."

"What does that box contain, anyway?" Lauriam asked.

"What, you haven't heard the stories? Oh right, you're from another world. Well, let's just say that there's a reason Zeusy had this bad boy gone and buried." Whatever it was must have been powerful indeed because Heartless were already starting to manifest, attracted by the darkness within the box. Shadows clawed at Hades's robes desperately to reach it, while more powerful breeds appeared all around them. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer!"

Hades cackled madly and threw the box's lid back, turning the slow fall of dark mist into a tumultuous whirlwind that erupted out of the box and high into the sky. At the black spiral's apex dark clouds began to cover the night sky in a shroud that continued to expand ever outward. Lauriam took a step back as the sky above him turned blacker than night, the moon and stars all swallowed up. He heard a dry crunch and looked down to see the grass beneath his feet withering before his eyes. The Heartless writhed in ecstasy, and even the Nobodies seemed to notice the shift in this world's balance between darkness and light.

"What… What is…"

"What's in the box? I'm glad you asked! Hades held his hands up dramatically as a deafening roar shook the area. From within the vortex of darkness that still flew out of Pandora's Box, something else began to appear. Something _alive_. Massive paws came from the dark first, settling on the decaying earth. What appeared to be a lion emerged, but a goat's head was beside the lion head. And as it pulled itself out of the blackness further, Lauriam saw that its tail was replaced by a writhing snake.

"All the world's evil."

Lauriam turned to Hades. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry and his voice came out only a faint creak. Swallowing, he tried again. "Pardon?"

"Oh that's not this thing specifically. This is just a chimera. Evil is what is in Pandora's Box." Hades waved a dismissive hand as more monsters began to appear out of the darkness: men with the upper halves of bulls, women with hair made of snakes, and more. Hades grinned and looked up at the sky, watching as the ever-expanding clouds made their way toward both Thebes and Mount Olympus. "And now that the box is in my hands, everything is coming up Hades."

**x-x-x**

"CHEERS!"

Atop Mount Olympus, glasses clinked together as chatter and laughter rolled along the clouds. The Olympian gods were attending a feast hosted by Zeus himself (with some aid from Bacchus, of course). The finest, largest boar in all the lands, hunted just this morning by Artemis herself, sat on an extravagant table surrounded by several varieties of cheese and fruit provided by Demeter. Wine flowed forth endlessly from a fountain, and the other gods had had to pull a drunk Bacchus away from it more than once tonight. The Muses provided a quiet ambiance in the background, accompanied by Apollo and his lyre.

The loudest laughter of all came from Zeus. The boisterous, bearded man clapped his back down on his brother beside him. "Come on Poseidon, one more round! It's not every day my boy makes it to the finals!"

As Poseidon downed his latest cup of wine, Hera chuckled in her seat beside Zeus. "Actually dear, it kind of is."

Zeus paused to think for a moment before letting out an even louder laugh than before and slamming his fist on the table. "Haha! So it is! Nonetheless, tonight we celebrate Hercules's victory as much as any he's had before!"

"Hear, hear!" the rest of the gods exclaimed, raising their glasses up for yet another toast. Still laughing, Zeus fell back in his seat and took a large bite out of his piece of boar. After downing it with some wine, he leaned back further and took a brief rest.

"'scuse me, pardon me. Hey Aphrodite, _love_ the outfit."

When a new voice entered the party, Zeus suddenly snapped to attention. "Hermes! I thought someone was missing! Come, come, try some of my wife's wonderful cooking!" He held up a piece of pie and then swallowed it all in one bite.

The messenger of the gods approached Zeus nervously and tugged at his collar. "Uh, actually boss, there's something you might want to check out." He lowered his voice and leaned in. "In private."

"What? But Hermes, it's a party! Come, eat and drink, celebrate Hercules with the rest of us!" He slapped his hand on Hermes's back, sending the smaller god flying.

When Hermes righted himself and collected his glasses, he zoomed right up back to Zeus and spoke to him again, quietly. "Uh, actually, it's about Hercules. And kind of the surface as a whole. Zeus, babe, this is _really_ important."

Zeus's brow furrowed. He gave Hermes a wary look, and when Hermes nodded back at him, Zeus frowned and looked to Hera. "I'll be right back, dear." He climbed up from his chair and followed Hermes through the corridors of Olympus, until the two of them came to a curtain of clouds on a cliff's edge.

"You're um, not gonna like this." Hermes pulled the clouds aside, revealing the familiar sight of Greece far below…but not as it had been only hours before.

Darkness swept out across the land in a wave, covering the fields, mountains, and forests in a deep blackness even darker than the night sky it was spreading over and replacing. Plants withered and animals fell over on the spot as black smoke crept across the earth. From the smoke manifested horrors, beasts of myth: gorgons, chimeras, minotaurs, and more. A great rift tore open the earth and out climbed Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld. Behind him came the multiheaded Hydra and the terrible Nemean Lion and Erymanthian Boar, which immediately began rampaging across the withering farmland. And wherever these monsters rampaged, all too familiar figures in black and white also sprang forth from the darkness: Heartless and Nobodies working side by side with the monsters of Greece.

Watching from the Realm of the Gods, Zeus roared in fury. "What's happening down there?!"

Hermes zipped away and came back an instant later carrying several of Zeus's thunderbolts. Zeus grabbed them and hurled one, two, three bolts at the encroaching darkness, but they didn't so much as slow it down. The darkness climbed the cliffs of Mount Olympus and soon reached the Realm of the Gods, drowning the heavens in black. The sky above was shrouded in impassible clouds, and the omnipresent glows faded from Zeus and Hermes's bodies.

"What…is this?" Zeus looked down at his hands. He felt so weak, like…like he was in the Underworld. That's what this darkness reminded him of. It was as if the Underworld's hero-to-zero atmosphere was spreading across the entire world. Zeus clenched his hands into fists and grit his teeth tightly. He didn't know how, but this had Hades written all over it. "Hermes, explain!"

Hermes cowered as the last of his own godly glow faded from his body. "S-Someone stole Pandora's Box the other night, so Hades must have opened it!"

The box! Blast it, Zeus should have known better than to entrust it to Hephaestus's care. He should have hidden it again as soon as it was retrieved from Thebes. And if that box was spreading the Underworld's effects across all of Greece, then they'd need a way to deal with it. "Who has the Olympus Stone?"

"That'd be uh, Hercules, sir. He's held onto it since that last romp with that Auron guy."

Zeus let out a breath. Well, at least the best man for the job also had the right tool for it. "Hermes, tell Hercules about Pandora's Box. Go! Go!"

Hermes saluted, the wings on his sandals flapping. "Gone, babe." And with that, he shot down the side of the mountain and off toward Thebes.

**x-x-x**

"Xion! Xion, wake up!"

She'd fallen asleep a little while ago, after their…awkward moment on the balcony. Roxas felt bad about waking her up when she so clearly needed the rest, but, uh, she needed to see this. Kind of urgently.

"Xion, come on!" He shook her somewhere halfway between gently and forcefully, eventually convincing her to open her eyes. They stared up at him in a mix of tiredness and confusion.

"Roxas…?" Xion sat up in bed and rubbed at her eyes, then stifled a yawn…then got a face full of purple as Roxas tossed her jacket at her. As she pulled it off her face she gave him a quizzical look. "What's going on?"

Roxas gestured toward the balcony. "It's better that you see for yourself." And without another word he hurried outside. Xion stared after him for a moment before quickly climbing out of bed and tugging her jacket on as she caught up to him. When she too came out onto the balcony, she almost toppled forward in shock at the sight and had to grab onto the railing to steady herself.

"What?!"

Once again Thebes was under attack. Heartless and Nobodies worked together to hassle Thebans and topple reconstruction projects, while more damage was being done by giant beasts unlike anything Roxas and Xion had ever seen before, monsters with neither the Heartless nor Nobody emblems to be found anywhere on their bodies. And up above the sky was covered in pitch black clouds, blocking off the moon and stars. The only sources of light were the torches lining Thebes's streets.

Xion looked toward Roxas so quickly that she almost got whiplash. "What's going on?!"

"It's gotta be Hades. Come on, we need to find Herc!" Without waiting for a response, Roxas vaulted himself over the edge of the balcony. His Keyblades were already in his hands before he landed on the streets below.

Xion landed soon after, and he could hear her calling behind him. "Roxas, wait! You can't–"

Whatever she was saying was drowned out by the crashing sound of a Berserker Nobody jumping down to intercept Roxas. He brought his Keyblades up to block its massive claymore, only to feel like he was hit by a freight train and get flung back into the wall of a nearby building. Roxas grunted and slid down onto the ground, his Keyblades clattering beside him.

"What the? I feel so weak…" Roxas stared at his hands, then his eyes shot up when the Berserker loomed over him. He was nearly flattened like a pancake before Xion grabbed his hand and tugged him away at the last second. As they ran through the streets, dodging enemy and rubble, Roxas could feel his breathing getting shallower, his body growing heavier. "Xion…!"

She was panting as she led them, clearly not fairing much better. She pulled him into a back alley and leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths as a lion-goat-snake hybrid rampaged past them. "'Heroes are zeroes'," she said as if quoting someone, then turned to Roxas. "Roxas, whatever is happening, it's like Thebes has become a part of the Underworld. The air is the same. This is how I felt down there, weak and useless. I don't…want him to find me again… I don't want to–" Her breaths grew quicker. Xion wrapped her arms around herself and slumped against the wall.

Roxas's reaction was immediate, wrapping his own arms around her. "It's okay, Xion. It's okay. I'm here, and I'll protect you."

"Yeah…" Xion leaned her head against his chest, and he could feel her breathing stabilizing. "Thank you."

"Don't sweat it." Roxas looked away, hoping to hide the blush he knew was creeping up his cheeks. "As for this weakness, Phil mentioned that too, when I told him where you'd gone. He said we'd be powerless without something called the Olympus Stone."

Xion gently pulled herself out of Roxas's grip. "Do you know where we can get that?"

"Phil made it sound like Zeus had it. But I don't think we'll be getting to Mount Olympus any time soon with all this going on." Roxas peeked around the corner and out onto the streets, where a small herd of minotaurs and Satyr Heartless rampaged together, knocking over everything in their path.

"Herc might have a faster way to get there," Xion mused. "Or maybe he had the same idea already went to get the stone!"

"That's a good idea. Come on, let's go find Herc!" Roxas grabbed Xion's hand so as not to lose her in the chaos, and together the two took off down the twisting alleys of Thebes.

But navigating a city under siege was easier said than done, especially when defending yourself was now out of the question. Buildings crumbled all around them as Heartless, Nobodies, and monsters rampaged this way and that. They kept to the shadows and stayed pressed up against walls, weaving their way through streets and gardens, down waterways and up hills, over toppled statues and under straining archways. Eventually they came upon the agora at the heart of the city, where the two of them were met with quite the unexpected sight.

As helpless Thebans watched on, a figure whose very being was glowing a brilliant gold punched a massive rampaging boar right in its snout. The boar went flying and crashed into an equally large lion, which then slammed into a serpent. The figure grabbed the serpent and tied the lion and boar up in it, then swung his makeshift wrecking ball around and around before tossing all three monsters out of the city where they soared over the horizon and vanished. The godly glow faded away, revealing Hercules underneath.

Hercules turned back to the crowd. "Is everyone okay?"

"Herc!" Roxas and Xion sprinted over to him. As Roxas skidded to a stop, he looked the hero up and down. "How did you do that? Xion and I can't fight in this weird air."

Hercules gave the two of them a grin and fished for something out of his pocket. "With this." He held out his hand to reveal a golden coin that fit snugly in his palm, with a cloud and lightning bolt emblazoned on its smooth surface.

"Is that the Olympus Stone?" Xion asked.

"You know about it? Yeah, I've held onto it ever since my last trip into the Underworld, just in case. Here, let me give you two a hand." Herc gripped the Olympus Stone and held it up over his head. A ring of light pulsed outward from it, followed by a shower of pale golden sparkles that rained down on the two Keyblade wielders. Roxas could feel the effects immediately: the invisible weights on his limbs lifting, the chill on his skin fading away.

Roxas called Oathkeeper into his hands and examined the weapon, its white blade shimmering slightly in the darkness. "That's it?" he asked Hercules.

"That's it. The Olympus Stone has done its job, and you can fight in Hades's domain now."

"Sorry… I sure wish I had known about this before," Xion said with a sigh.

Hercules crossed his arms and gave the two of them a look that made them feel incredibly small, like children being scolded by their parent. "Maybe next time you two shouldn't go running off and making plans without cluing the rest of us in." Then his face relaxed, and he out his hands on their shoulders. "But even if things got a little out of hand, we're all okay now. So let's work together and stop whatever scheme Hades has cooked up this time!"

Roxas nodded, and though it took a moment Xion did give the two of them a smile of agreement. Herc gently pulled his hands away and then looked behind the two of them with a grimace. "But first, it looks like we've got some cleaning up to do." Roxas and Xion turned around, calling their weapons into their hands at the same time. A swarm of Heartless had manifested and was coming right for them; and more importantly, for the crowd Thebans nearby.

"Cleanup duty?" Roxas asked as he tightened his grip on his Keyblades.

Herc laughed, and as he punched a fist into his palm his body began to glow with that godly light once again. "That's half of what a hero's job is. Make sure not to let a single one through, these people our under our protection!"

"Right!"

Their opponents were a swarm of Soldiers, Bizarre Archers, and – _ugh_ – Earth Cores. Cores aside those were simple enough to take care of unless their numbers grew too high. Roxas darted forward, running under the Bizarre Archers' rain of arrows, and crashed his crossed Keyblades into the chest of a Soldier. He sent the Soldier flying and then spun his Keyblades around him, sending out a thin and razor-sharp ring of light that slashed at all the surrounding Heartless – a technique he was partial to using against Sora during their fight in the World That Never Was. More arrows came at Roxas but Xion was on the job, with a Fire, Blizzard, and Water spells firing in quick succession from the tip of her Keyblade and knocking their arrows off-course. A second round made quick work of them.

The Earth Cores were…a different story. At least there was no sand around here, but even still Roxas was more than not a fan of the spike-backed Heartless after his encounters with them since coming back. Roxas swung at one only for it to turn around at the last minute, and his Keyblades rebounded helplessly against its back. The Heartless dove into the earth and moved through it like a fish through water, then leapt out to attack Xion from below. She cried out and narrowly avoided a second attack before fist met face; Hercules sent the Earth Core flying with one punch, but there were still more to go.

Not that Herc would let them last much longer. As the Earth Cores moved through the stone and earth around them, Herc brought both fists down on the ground and triggered a minor earthquake. Minor, but enough to get the job done. The Cores flew out of the ground in surprise, giving Xion and Roxas the chance to send a rain of Thunder spells on the area and making sure to strike each and every one.

The last of the freed hearts had barely finished vanishing into the sky before something small, blue, and fast came flying at them with frantic calls. "Heeerc! Hey Herculeeees!"

Herc looked up at the voice. "Hermes?"

The short blue flying man came to a stop and saluted well being kept aloft by little flapping wings attached to sandals. "I was gonna give you a warning, but it looks like you all have the worst of it."

"Roxas, Xion, this is Hermes, messenger of the gods," Herc said, giving the two of them a short introduction. He turned to Hermes without missing a beat. "So you know what's going on? Is my father figuring things out?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure do babe. But that's a no on the boss; we're as powerless as these mortals without the Olympus Stone."

Herc grimaced and crossed his arms. "Right… And I probably don't have enough time to deliver the stone to Olympus in the middle of all this. So what's the source of this mess?"

"I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."

"Hades, right?" Roxas asked, butting in on the conversation. Hermes looked at Roxas, then looked at Hercules who gave him a nod. Then Hermes shrugged and turned to the kids. "Yeah, Hades. He opened Pandora's Box!"

Hercules took a step back. "He what?!"

"What box?" Xion asked.

"Pandora's Box," Herc explained with a grimace. "It contains darkness and monsters, and all the pure evil of the world. That explains why everything feels like the Underworld now. But how'd Hades get it?"

Hermes shrugged. "If I had to guess he probably had some lackey steal it. But what matters now is that he has it and it's open. So Herc, you gotta close it! That should solve everything!"

"We'll go with you!" Roxas added. "You helped us, we'll help you. And besides…" He looked to Xion who cast him a worried glance. But he gave her a reassuring smile and then turned back to Hercules. "I – _we_ – have a score to settle with Hades."

Hercules nodded. "You heard them then, Hermes. Go tell the gods we'll handle Hades."

"On it, babe!" And like a bolt from the blue, he was gone.

Hercules held his fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. A moment later they heard the sound of flapping wings, as from around a nearby building came– a winged horse?! The flying stallion landed gracefully, allowing its passengers Phil and Meg to disembark. They greeted Hercules and he gave them a quick recap of the situation, but trailed off when he saw Roxas and Xion's stunned expressions.

Herc chuckled. "Wasn't Pegasus in the stage show you guys saw?"

"Yeah, but…that's pretty different from seeing the real thing," Roxas said, his eyes locked on Pegasus's form.

"His fur is so pretty!" Xion added. She ran a hand along his back and Pegasus snorted contentedly – or perhaps smugly? – before striking a heroic pose.

"Alright, don't give him a big head," Herc joked. "Phil, Meg we've got some more citizens here for you to get to safety. We've got Hades to deal with."

Phil spat on the ground. "I thought I smelled him behind this!"

Meg put a hand on Herc's arm. "Don't worry, Wonderboy, we'll keep them safe like the rest. You go do your hero thing."

"Thanks, Meg. We'll be right back–" Herc was cut off by the rumbling earth. Heads turned as his statue in the center of the agora toppled and the ground tore open. From the gaping fissure came one, two, three giant serpentine heads. As the citizens cried out in terror, Phil's jaw dropped and Hercules slumped forward. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me."

The heads rose up and up, revealing that at the base of their long necks they were all attached to a single lizard like body. The Hydra, back from the dead! Herc jumped on Pegasus's back while Meg and Phil began to order the citizens around, ushering them toward the Coliseum and hopefully to safety.

Roxas ran up beside Pegasus. "Herc! How do we fight this thing?"

Herc grit his teeth and looked between Roxas and Xion, the Hydra, and the lightless black sky overhead. Lowering his head and letting out a breath, he then looked back at the kids and locked eyes with them. "I'll worry about fighting the Hydra. You two go handle Hades."

Xion started. "What? But Herc–"

Herc held up a hand. "Stop. Honestly, you two are the best for the job: your Keyblades can probably stop the threat of Pandora's Box for good." Xion stared down at the Keyblade in her hand, and then Herc chuckled. "Besides, Roxas is right. You two have a score to settle with him; I've already settled mine."

"…Okay," Xion said at last. She tightened her grip on Sign of Innocence and looked to Roxas with determination. "You ready?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah."

"Be careful, you two. Focus on getting the box over beating Hades, and when you finally close it, make sure to seal it with your Keyblades."

"Right. We'll be back before you know it, Herc!" And with that, the two ran off into the city.

Hercules patted Pegasus on the neck and he lifted off. "Alright boy, now get me up on the Hydra's back!"

Pegasus's neighs and the Hydra's roars echoed behind Roxas and Xion as they continued to hurry through Thebes. There were no more people to be found now, just a few wandering packs of baddies, so hopefully everyone found safety with the help of Meg and Phil. As they climbed a hill and arrived at the city's highest point, an overlook with a perfect view of Mount Olympus, the blue glow of Hades's hair was in sight. Roxas narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace, but before he could call out Hades's name Xion suddenly came to a halt and pulled Roxas aside.

"What's the big idea?!"

"Ssh! Look!"

Hades wasn't alone. Beside him, watching the chaos unfold from the overlook, was a man in the familiar black coat and hood. Roxas gasped. The guy from Enchanted Dominion!

Hades stretched his hands out to his sides and took in a deep breath through his nostrils. "Ahh, I love the smell of chaos in the evening. I don't know why I ever tried with the Titans when I could have just done this. Now, where'd I put the box…" He turned around to face the man in the hood, who held the box in his hands. "Oh. You're still here?"

"What? Of course I am. We still have our deal, Hades, and I held up my end of the bargain."

Hades scratched the inside of his ear with his pink finger. "Come again?"

The man's displeasure was clear in his voice, even if his face was hidden in the shadow of his hood. "Our deal, Hades. Grant me access to the Final World. You made me a promise."

"The Final World, huh? Final World, Final World…" Hades crossed his arms and tapped his head while he slowly paced in front of the man. "Oh yeah, that! See, here's the thing about promises: don't keep ones you can't keep."

"What?" The man took a step back and pulled Pandora's Box protectively closer.

"You think I can just open a door and access the Final World willy-nilly? Please. I may be Lord of the Dead, but my dominion only extends to _this_ world. If I could leave the Underworld behind and go to a place as pretty as the Final World, don't you think I would have ditched my hole in the ground a long time ago?"

The man's shoulders slumped. "I can't say I didn't see this coming. But I had to take any chance I could."

"That's the spirit! Better to have tried and lost than have never tried at all, right? Now, give me that." Hades swiped Pandora's Box from the man's hands and turned back to the overlook. His bony fingers tapped at the box's lid and then slowly began to crack it open. "And let's enjoy the fireworks."

"HADES!"

Coated in light, Roxas shot out of their hiding place like a lightning bolt and charged head-on at Hades. Pandora's Box was sent flying from his grip, and he struggled to hold back Roxas's Keyblades. "What the– You had the Olympus Stone?!"

"Roxas, I got it!" Roxas glanced back over his shoulder to see her holding Pandora's Box triumphantly over her head.

"No!" Hades grunted and fought against Roxas's pushing, but successfully shoved the boy aside and hurled a fireball at Xion. She cried out as it exploded and sent her toppling to the ground. Once more the box flew through the air.

"Xion!" Roxas hurried to her side while Pandora's Box halted in midair and hovered in front of Hades.

Behind Hades, the man in the black coat pressed his hand against the wall behind him and opened a corridor of darkness. "This is where I tag out." He walked backwards into the shadows and vanished, as if he were never there.

But the Keyblade wielders' attention wasn't on him, it was on the very angry god standing in front of them and literally fuming. "You want this box? Is that it?" Hades gestured with his hand and Pandora's Box levitated higher into the sky, then a spherical barrier formed out of interlocking hexagons flashed around it, locking it off from them. "Well you can't have it! Things are finally going my way! And no one is going to meddle this time, least of all some putrid puppet pals!"

Roxas helped Xion to her feet, and then Xion gripped his hand tightly before turning to Hades and resummoning her Keyblade. "We'll show you we're more than just your playthings."

Xion dropped into her combat stance, and Roxas did the same beside her. "That's right. You'll pay for what you did to Xion, Hades!"

"You irritating little…! That's IT!" In a burst of scorching heat, Hades's color scheme shifted to a furious red. "It's about time you pesky lights were BURNT OUT!"

A wave of fire flew out in time with Hades's screams and scorched the stone of the overlook, but the two of them were protected by a Reflect that Xion threw up at the last moment. As soon as the barrier around them fell Roxas darted at Hades and swung both Keyblades with all his might, slashing at Hades two, four, six times before the god managed to break out of Roxas's combo and sent a fireball his way. When Roxas shattered the fireball with his Keyblade it split apart into many smaller pieces that flew around him and back toward Xion, who during all of this had been assailing Hades with spells.

To her credit, Xion reacted to the approaching flurry of flames with haste. She leaned back and swerved and cartwheeled away, moving like a dancer on the stage to dodge Hades's attack. The flames exploded behind her, giving a lightshow to go with her performance. Before the last of the smoke had dissipated, Xion cast Blizzard to leave a trail of ice along the ground and then jumped on and rode the path into melee range. Hades had his hands full keeping Roxas's relentless attacks at bay, and wasn't prepared for a third Keyblade to come in at his blind spot and hit him across the shoulder.

"Blast you!" Hades roared. His whole body ignited in flame, pushing Roxas and Xion back from heat alone, let alone the actual burning. He thrust his arms toward both of them and flamethrowers erupted from beneath his sleeves to stream toward them. Xion darted out of the way and launched a series of Blizzara missiles, cooling Hades off just in time for Roxas to recover. Roxas tossed one Keyblade high into the sky and his body converted into particles of light which shot up to meet his Keyblade in midair. He became physical once more and dropped down on Hades from above, gravity backing his attack. But only one slash got through, and before Roxas could follow up with the second Hades grabbed him by the head.

"Cerberus, fetch!" With a furious grunt, Hades tossed Roxas over the edge of the overlook. Even over the wind blowing past his ears and his heart pounding in fear, Roxas could hear Xion shrieking in horror. But before impact and certain death came, a growling mass of black shot up from below. Roxas righted himself just in time to stop himself from being devoured by a massive three-headed dog, using Oblivion to keep one razor-toothed maw propped open. He avoided another head's attack and slashed at the third with Oathkeeper, then jumped away from the dog and ran up the side of the wall as it pawed and snapped at him from below.

Roxas cleared the wall and returned to the overlook to see Xion attacking Hades relentlessly, no doubt in retribution for what had just happened to him. Her Keyblade was supercharged and glowing with magical power, and after every combo attack she would finish with a Watera or Blizzara spell from her hands. But Roxas couldn't go join her with this hound nipping at his heels. He called Oblivion back into his hand as Cerberus's three heads rose up from below the cliff's edge. One snapped at him and he jumped back, another snapped and he jumped aside. The third he didn't manage to avoid, not entirely; he wasn't hit by its bite, but it slammed its muzzle into him and knocked him into a mighty paw that Cerberus had also brought up to the battlefield.

"Don't play with your food, Cerberus! Finish him!"

At their master's command all three of Cerberus's heads lunged at Roxas at once. Roxas leapt up and landed on the center neck of the beast, careful not to look down at the long drop that awaited him if he were to fall off. Cerberus's forelegs were propped up against the overlook, while his hind legs stood on a rocky outcropping on the cliff below. Massive and monstrous as he was, he was still a dog, and dogs weren't meant to stand on two legs. Throwing him off-balance shouldn't be too hard.

"Xion, hit him hard!"

Xion blocked Hades swiping at her with flaming claws and looked at Roxas wide-eyed. "What?!"

"Just do it!"

"Okay… I hope you know what you're doing!" Xion broke away from Hades and jumped back, then gripping her Keyblade with both hands pointed it toward Roxas as he danced atop Cerberus's middle neck, avoiding the gnashing teeth of two heads. White strands of nothingness swirled around her arms and her Keyblade disappeared only to be replaced in a flash by a weapon replicated from the second Organization: Xigbar's arrowguns, combined into their sniper rifle form.

As the rifle began to charge, Hades wasn't having it. He launched another fireball at Xion and she couldn't avoid it, knocking her to the ground and firing the blast prematurely. A large blue arrow shot out of the barrel of the rifle but its aim was off, and it flew high into the sky – for a moment. It was Xigbar's powers she had replicated, after all. Space warped around the blast and it reappeared directly above Cerberus. As soon as he realized the blast was coming for him Roxas tossed Oathkeeper at Hades and then teleported to his Keyblade in a stream of light, avoiding the rifle shot at the last second as it made impact and sent Cerberus tumbling.

As soon as Oathkeeper pierced Hades Roxas reappeared in a flash of light with his hand around the hilt. He pulled Oathkeeper back and then slashed at Hades with Oblivion before being tossed aside by a flamethrower. "You don't see me attacking _your_ pets!" Hades shouted.

"You should treat your dog better!" Xion shot back. With Sign of Innocence back in her hand she hit Hades dead on in the chest with a Blizzaga spell and then came down on him and shattered the ice with her Keyblade. Hades recoiled and shards of ice went flying all around them, then halted in midair as Xion raised her weapon. She spun on one foot and pointed her Keyblade at Hades again, and the shards of ice all rained down at a singular point: at him. As Hades was assaulted from all sides by a storm of miniature blades, Xion charged her Keyblade with magic once more and thrust it forward. A glow of blue and white hit Hades in the gut and sent him flying, swearing and shouting, as he fell down the side of the cliff to join Cerberus.

"You won't see the last of meeeee…!"

But for the time being, they would.

Roxas dismissed his Keyblades and grabbed both of her hands in his. "That was amazing, Xion!"

Xion laughed and bounced up and down excitedly as she too gripped his hands tightly. "Your plan was genius, Roxas! Dangerous though, too. What if I had shot before you were ready?"

"But you didn't. It all worked out, and you even got the finishing blow on Hades! See? You're amazing Xion." And her smile in response to those words, so pure and genuine, truly warmed Roxas's heart. "Now, let's finish things off here."

With Hades dealt with, the barrier around Pandora's Box vanished and it slowly began to fall to the earth. Xion snatched it from the air and examined it. "So what do we do to stop this darkness?"

Roxas leaned in and rapped his knuckles against the side of the box. "I'm not sure– Whoa, it's doing something!"

Perhaps it was the way he had touched it or perhaps not, but suddenly the box sprung to life in Xion's hands. A vortex lowered from the clouds and began to spiral back into the box, sucking them up like a vacuum. As the stars and moon in the night sky above began to gradually become more and more visible, terrified animalistic roars rose up from all around Thebes. Chimeras and gorgons and minotaurs and more all flew into the air against their will and got stuck in the growing vortex, their very bodies dissipating into mist before they were sucked back inside the box.

"Roxas, get your Keyblade ready!" Xion cried over the roars of the wind and beasts. As soon as the last of the darkness returned to the box and Xion slammed the lid shut, she turned it to face Roxas who launched a beam of light from Oathkeeper. A blue ring pulsed outward from the box and a soft _click_ echoed in the air around them.

Several moments passed as Xion and Roxas just stared at Pandora's Box in her hands, as lifeless and inconspicuous as any other container. "Is that it?" Roxas asked.

"Hey, guys!" The flapping wings of Pegasus turned their heads skyward to see Hercules calling down at them from above. He, Phil, and Meg were all aboard, and as Pegasus landed on the cobblestone Phil leapt off his seat and cheerfully punched Roxas in the knee.

"You did it, kid! I knew you were a champ in the making from the moment I met you way back then!"

Meg slipped off Pegasus herself. "Way to go, heroes."

Roxas and Xion glanced at each other and grinned, then Xion turned to Hercules and handed him the box. "Here you go. What are you going to do with it?"

Hercules took the box carefully and investigated the lock before he looked content enough to reply. "I'll give it to the gods on Olympus – and _this_ time make sure it's hidden somewhere more secure than wherever it was before. It probably wouldn't hurt to beef up security, either. They can get a bit complacent up there."

"You'd think they learn after the last few times they got attacked," Meg added.

Phil cleared his throat, and when everyone turned to him he patted Hercules on the leg. "Well, the night's not over yet."

"What do you mean, Phil?" Roxas asked.

"What do I mean?! I mean the Games, kid! We've still got a match – the final match! My two champs in the ring together, mano a mano!"

Oh, wow. In all the chaos of tonight, Roxas had completely forgotten about the Games. He was so tired and sore, but… He looked up to Herc. "What do you say? You ready for that tonight?"

Herc's smile was as warm as a torch on a cold night. He held his hand out. "I'm definitely looking forward to facing one of the heroes of Thebes."

"Just so we're clear, Xion did the heavy lifting tonight." When Xion gave Roxas a shove in the shoulder, Roxas laughed and took Herc's hand. "But likewise. And I promise I won't go easy on you, Herc."

**x-x-x**

"Ow, ow, ow… Ow! Xion, careful!"

Roxas hissed in pain as Xion pulled her hand away and stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at him on the bed on front her. "Well how did you think a fight with Hercules was going to end?"

"I was hoping with less bandages," Roxas said as he ran a hand over one on his cheek and then winced.

Phil's laughter was somewhere between mocking and encouraging as he approached the pair. "Ah, give it a rest, kid. There's no one who can beat Herc. Besides, those cuts and bruises should be fine in a couplea days."

"That doesn't make right now any less sore…"

More laughter, from everyone this time. Phil's guffaws were the loudest despite his quiet size, while Meg's light chuckling was the softest as she leaned against the doorframe. "So what's next for you kids?" Meg asked while crossing her arms and watching them with a smile.

Roxas pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Starting off on our adventure again, I guess. It's been fun but we've definitely been here longer than we planned to."

"Well we've enjoyed having you, even if the circumstances weren't the greatest," Herc said. "Stop by again soon; maybe if you're lucky, Sora, Donald, and Goofy will be here too. I'd be happy to introduce you, I think you'd get along great."

Roxas smiled, but he wondered if his eyes could hide the pang of sadness in his heart when Herc said those words. So that's what it meant to be innocently insensitive. "We may just take you up on that," he said with a nod.

Meg's smile faltered as she looked from Roxas to Xion. "You gonna be okay, Xion?"

"I…" Xion took a deep breath, her fingers curling into fists in her lap. "I'll be better. Yeah, I will."

Meg nodded. "You're strong. But don't keep these things bottled up, alright? Talk it out."

Roxas rubbed the back of his head. "Meg's right. We should tell Axel, though boy I'm not looking forward to that…" As Roxas fumbled for his Gummiphone, Xion's head snapped up.

"Oh! Herc, Meg, Phil. There is one thing I'd like to ask before we go."

The three of them glanced at each other, then Herc shrugged. "What is it? We'd be happy to help if we can." Xion pulled out her own phone and opened the camera.

Herc rubbed his chin. "Hey, Sora had one of those too. It's like an instant self-portrait."

"So a memory for the road?" Phil asked.

Xion nodded. "Yeah. I just need us all to get together." She moved over to the group, tugging Roxas along, and then held her phone up so all of them were in its sights. "When I say cheese, smile!"

**x-x-x**

In a dimly lit alley somewhere amidst the dark towers of the World That Never Was, a dark corridor opened up. Lauriam stepped out and closed the entry into the darkness behind him, then upon seeing that the world's near constant rain was not actually present, lowered his hood. He stepped out onto the empty streets, surrounded by neon signs that advertised to no one – no one save for the woman sitting at a table outside an empty coffee shop across the street.

"You're back," she observed with a smile. "How'd it go?"

Lauriam shook his head and sat down across from his companion. "Hades played me for a fool. He strung me along for his own ambitions and never knew how to access the Final World in the first place."

She scoffed behind her coffee cup. "I could have told you that's how it would end."

Lauriam raised an eyebrow as he leaned on one hand. "Seeking out Hades was your suggestion in the first place."

"As a joke! You take everything so seriously, even with your heart back." She took another sip and the two sat in silence, listening to the sound of nothing that permeated Never Was. Tracing her finger around the rim of the coffee cup, she looked up at Lauriam questioningly. "So what now? Back to plan A?"

Lauriam's eyes wandered, turning to the ruins of the Castle That Never Was not far away. "…Yes," he said finally. "We're continuing with the sleeping worlds plan." He turned his full attention back to his companion, who looked uncertain about his decision. But it was his decision nevertheless, and they'd continue down this road regardless of misgivings. "Elrena, what is the next world where the Flood of Light is emerging?"

The blonde set her cup aside. "Well…"

**x-x-x**

The cave was as damp and quiet as it always was, and like always, he couldn't shake the feel that he was being watched. There had been stories about this place since his childhood, since his old man's childhood, saying the cave was haunted. That a monster lived there. But he'd never paid it any mind; if anything, all the warnings about it had always made him even more curious. For as long as he could remember he had always been exploring this curious little cave.

As he rounded the corner, something caught shined out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned his head, nothing was there. Well, save for the oddity that had always been there. Same as it ever was. He brushed a curious hand against the old wood, so out of place in this cave. "What was that light?" he whispered.

"Hey!" His friend's voice called from the entrance. "You in here man? The game is gonna start soon!"

"Oh, crap! Yeah, I'm coming!"

"Tidus, hurry it up, ya?" Wakka's head poked in from around the corner. "We gotta hurry over to the stadium."

"I said I'm coming Wakka! I just… I thought I saw something."

"You hit your head? Come on, Coach is waiting."

"You don't need to tell me twice. Let's teach those Luca Goers a lesson, come on!"

"Yeah bruddah, that's what I like to hear!" Wakka pumped his fist and hurried back outside toward their boats, but Tidus hesitated and cast one last look at the mysterious old door that sat at the back of the secret place. He knew he hadn't imagined that light…had he?

* * *

_FF14's new expansion Shadowbringers came out when this chapter was partway finished, so writing got set aside for about a week while I was playing that. Sorry!_


	17. A Homecoming of a Sort

**Chapter 17: A Homecoming of a Sort**

The Ocean Between was undeniably a beautiful sight. The endless deep blue sky was like a sea of stars, countless distant worlds shining brightly, forming works of natural art as they gathered together into constellations and galaxies. Nebulae resembled auroras, their shifting colors occasionally interrupted by a shooting star passing through. Asteroids and rock formations had surprising variety in their size and shape, some forming tunnel networks and others as large as mountains. Massive ice crystals floated about, glittering in the light of the sun and refracting its rays this way and that. A coral reef occupied one of the nearby asteroids, bright and colorful in this alien sea despite the lack of water to sustain it.

Yes, beautiful… If only someone was looking at it.

On one of the floating mountains occupied by coral, two figures sat together. Though alone in the vast silence of the Ocean Between, neither had their eyes on their surroundings. Xion's eyes were downcast, her knees hugged tight to her chest. Once the adrenaline of the night before had worn off, everything that had happened regarding Hades's statues came back to her in full force. She hadn't said a word since waking up and setting off, her worst nightmare back to haunt her. She wasn't being hard on herself, calling herself a failure and mistake, not anymore. Not after her talk with Roxas, after they almost… At that particular memory, she buried her red face in her knees. No, it wasn't a matter of self-esteem anymore. But that didn't mean the trauma of being puppeted once again, of having control of her body torn from her _again_, was suddenly gone.

Roxas wasn't dumb and could clearly see that Xion was still bothered. He had tried to get her to talk it out as they did that night, but she was barely responsive, let alone speaking. And he wasn't exactly in the greatest of moods, either. Hades was defeated but he wasn't dead. He didn't pay enough for what he did, for almost taking one of Roxas's friends – his _best_ friend – away from him. And moreover, she had only been put in that position because he was a dumbass who let her charge into the Underworld alone and unprepared. It was his own damn fault this happened to her! Roxas's hands shook as he held his Gummiphone, and he had to keep himself from tossing it over the edge into the void of space. There was someone else he had to talk to. Someone who needed to know, deserved to know, what happened to Xion in Olympus.

The phone rang and a pit grew in Roxas's gut. How could he face this? Maybe he should hang up and try again later–

"Hey there, Roxas! Uh, where are you right now?"

Lea's smile on the Gummiphone screen was a sight for sore eyes. In the background Isa was cooking something up for them to eat and he gave a quick hello, his voice distant.

"Hey, Axel," Roxas responded. "We're between worlds. Olympus is taken care of and we fixed the soulbinding thing I told you about the other day, so we moved on."

"What happened?"

"Huh?"

All humor immediately gone from his voice, Lea leaned in closer to his screen. "I can hear the 'but' in your voice. Roxas, what happened?" Roxas glanced aside, toward Xion. If she had even noticed that he'd called Lea then she hadn't shown any sign of it. Lea didn't miss that glance, however brief it was. "Is Xion okay?"

Roxas sighed as his stomach tied into knots. He was absolutely dreading this conversation, but Lea was both of their best friend. He had the right to know. "She's…not exactly hurt, I guess." _Let's just rip off this band-aid._ Roxas took a deep breath. "Axel, a lot happened since we talked last. We did deal with Hades, but, well…"

Keeping his voice and temper as steady as he could, Roxas recounted both Xion's recurring nightmares of the Organization and the events in Olympus: Xion's plan to infiltrate the Underworld, his stupid, idiotic, braindead decision to allow her to go alone, and everything that happened after. Over the course of Roxas's explanation, Isa had set down whatever he was cooking and come closer to listen in. Both his and Lea's expressions were unreadable, and that honestly may have made Roxas feel even worse than if they were angry at him.

"…And it's all my fault. I failed her, Axel, and she had to face her fears again because of me. I let her charge in there on her own, and now that the fighting is over she's practically catatonic. She hasn't spoken to me all day." He could feel tears burning in his eyes as he spoke, but he fought desperately to keep a straight face, to not tip over the edge. "I messed up. I messed up so badly."

Isa and Lea continued to be silent. Judging him, no doubt. The two of them glanced at each other, exchanging silent words as only two childhood friends can, before Lea finally spoke up. "What you did – what both of you did – was stupid and reckless, Roxas. You're absolutely right about that. You should have planned more and spoken with your friends there, and Xion suffered for it."

Roxas winced at Lea's words as if his friend had slapped him across the face. "I'm sorry…"

"But the blame isn't entirely on you," Isa added. "Xion came up with the plan even if you enabled her. But moreover, this Hades person is the one who actually controlled her. He's the one who forced you two to fight, and he's the one who put you into the position for her to be controlled in the first place. Accept the parts that are your fault, but don't blame yourself for everything." Isa cracked a slight smile. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

Lea let out a breath and placed his hands on the table. "Let me talk to her. I dunno if I'll succeed where you couldn't, but let me at least try."

"…Yeah. Okay," Roxas said quietly. He turned to Xion and put a hand on her shoulder to shake her gently. "Xion. Xion, you there? Axel wants to say hi."

Xion looked up from her stupor, though her eyes looked distant. She looked at Roxas as if she didn't comprehend what it was he was saying, and so Roxas held up his phone to show Lea and Isa on the screen. Only then did it seem to click with her what Roxas meant. She slowly released her arms around her knees and lowered her legs, then took the phone when Roxas handed it over.

"Hey, kiddo," Lea said quietly.

Xion sniffled before responding. "Hi, Axel."

"Roxas told me what happened. Sounds like things got pretty rough… I'm sorry I wasn't there for you two. I should have been, but I wasn't."

"I don't know if things would be any different if you were."

"Maybe not, but maybe they would be. And that's why I'm coming to see you."

Roxas and Xion both stared at the screen, stunned. "What?" Roxas shook his head. "Axel, you know you can't get near flooded Keyholes! Besides, what about work?"

"I have a few days off," he responded with a nonchalant shrug. Then he was back to serious. "Look, I'm going to be blunt. After how the two of you bungled Olympus, I honestly don't know if you can handle yourselves."

Another slap across the face. "What is that supposed to mean?!" Roxas shouted, pulling his phone out of Xion's hands to glare directly at Lea.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Isa is right that most of the blame ultimately falls on Hades, but even if things worked out in the end the two of you still messed up hard. I'm coming to join you two for the next world, and that's not debatable."

Xion was retreating into herself more and more as Lea spoke. So much for breaking her barrier, so much for Lea being a friend. "We've spent our entire lives fighting, Axel!" Roxas said. "We can handle ourselves fine!"

"I'm not talking about fights, Roxas!" Lea snapped. "Look at yourselves. Roxas, the whole reason you called me is because Xion isn't in a good place, and I can also tell that you aren't either. I'm worried about your mental health. Both of you." Roxas grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, but he didn't snap back at Lea, at least not this time. "So if you'll let me finish: I'm joining you on the next world. As for what's after that, we'll see. Prove to me that you can handle yourselves, that the two of you will take care of one another and watch out for one another, and if you do that I'll come back to Twilight Town." He looked beside him at Isa. "You can handle things here, right?"

Isa closed his eyes. "As if I have a choice. Without a Keyblade Glider or Gummi Ship I'm stuck here either way."

"Roxas…" Roxas's eyes snapped up from the Gummiphone to Xion. That was the first time she'd said his name all day. "Maybe he's right. Look at us. We messed up. I honestly don't know if we can handle ourselves out there after all."

Her cheeks were stained by tears, her eyes puffy and red. His heart fell just looking at her. Closing his eyes and rubbing his arms across them to fight back his own tears, Roxas relented. His shoulders drooped and he spoke to Lea without taking his eyes off Xion. "Okay, Axel. You have yourself a deal. We'll show you how strong we can be."

"I really, truly hope that you do," Lea said in an uncharacteristically caring tone. "So what world should I meet you two at?"

Xion pulled out her own Gummiphone and opened up the app that Tron had installed before. It scanned the worlds around them for the Flood of Light and Xion's eyes widened when it dinged. She held up her phone to show Roxas, and his breath caught in his throat. Of all the places… Maybe this wouldn't be as emotionally stable a trip as he thought it'd be.

"Guys? Where am I flying to?"

Roxas looked back down at his phone, at Lea impatiently fidgeting in his seat. "The Destiny Islands," he said at last.

Lea's reaction was immediate, his arms falling to his side and eyes widening. "Roxas, are you sure about going there…?"

Roxas's jaw set, but he decided to ignore the question. Maybe he had to face the islands again sooner rather than later – yet another band-aid that needed ripping off. "We'll meet you at the beach, okay?"

**x-x-x**

The bright sun and cloudless sky were a stark contrast to the somber mood on the play island today. Normally Roxas would have jumped at the chance to go to the beach with Xion and Lea, but not today. Not with Xion in this mood, and especially not at _this_ beach. The last time he was here felt like a lifetime ago. He hadn't returned since…since back then. Since the party after Xehanort was finally defeated. Since he disappeared right in front of them – in front of him.

It was nice at first: meeting the older Keyblade Masters, finally meeting Kairi face to face, and of course seeing Naminé again after what felt like so long. Most of all, he finally got to go to the beach with not only Lea and Xion but Hayner, Pence, and Olette as well. They'd spent the whole day on this shore, playing in the water, building sandcastles. No pretzels though, much to Hayner's dismay. Roxas had just been glad that both of his friend groups had gotten along, had blended together so seamlessly.

There had still been unpleasant, unsaid words between Roxas and Riku after everything that happened in the World That Never Was. Roxas knew Riku's story and why he did what he did by that point, but it hadn't made his feelings about Riku keeping him from saving Xion go away. And neither of them were surprised when Terra had picked up on the tense atmosphere between them, considering it was probably thick enough to cut with a knife. The race they had that evening had been Terra's suggestion, a way to relieve even just a bit of the tension. He'd butted his way into the race too, but Roxas hadn't minded. He had to admit, racing Riku across the beach was…nostalgic.

Roxas couldn't say when he felt it, but at some point there beneath the setting sun he felt a sudden warmness in his heart. Everyone else had to have felt it too; that boy touched so many hearts, after all. All action slowed to a halt on the beach as everyone looked out across the water, to the small isle with the paopu tree. To the two figures sitting on the tree hand in hand. And Roxas knew then, all of them on the beach that evening knew, that everything was just right.

He shouldn't have thought twice about it.

Roxas felt it before he saw it: the warmth around his heart faded away like a loved one slowly pulling back from their hug. Could the others feel that as they had felt their return? Roxas didn't know, because all his focus on what he felt at that moment. Relief and happiness quickly gave way to horror and denial and he ran forward calling his name. His breaths raced, his heartbeat pounded in his ears, but his desperate pleas meant nothing. And just like that, his other half faded away right in front of him.

The sound of light splashing brought Roxas back to the present. Xion's boots and socks were on the sand beside him, and Xion herself had stepped into the surf. She was crouched down, picking up seashells. The sight of such a familiar action brought a nostalgic smile to Roxas's face, even if it was something he had rarely actually seen her do in person. His own shoes may have been a bit harder to casually slip off than hers were, but he did so nonetheless so he could join her at the water.

Roxas crouched down to run his hands through the sand and surf beside her. "Mind if I butt in?"

Xion looked up in surprise, a clam shell slipping form her fingers. She gave him a sad smile before turning back to the water. "Oh, hey. Sorry, I thought you were lost in your head."

"I was, I guess," Roxas responded.

"I was too, but… Well, you know, me and seashells." She let out some awkward laughter. Forced.

Roxas responded in kind. "Yeah, you and seashells. Find any good ones?"

Xion brushed some sand off of a pink spiral shell. "Yeah, maybe."

"Well I'm glad to see you got her talking."

Heads turned at the newcomer's voice. He sat atop the wooden bridge that connected to the paopu isle, a spiky redhead clad in black. Lea tilted his sunglasses down to get a better look at Roxas and Xion, then hopped down onto the sand below as the two of them made their way back to dry land. Lea took his sunglasses off and clipped them onto the collar of his shirt.

"Axel, when did you get here?" Roxas asked while Xion gave him a hug; not her most energetic of hugs, but a hug nonetheless.

"Before you two, actually. I guess Twilight Town is closer to this world than Olympus. So I figured I'd stop by town and get us some transport before you two arrived. Boy let me tell you, finding a boat rental is a chore in a place where everyone already has boats."

"Transport?" Xion asked.

"Well sure. You can't expect to just fly across to the main island on our Gliders and not raise suspicion, can you?" That mental image did get a chuckle from Roxas and Xion, and Lea seemed to take that as a victory because his face brightened up considerably. "Alright, then let's go hit the streets and find that Keyhole." He began walking down the beach while waving over his shoulder for them to follow.

Roxas and Xion took a moment as they had to get their shoes back on, but soon enough they were trailing a few feet behind Lea. Heh, just like old times. Lea led them to the small dock on the island, where a motorboat just barely big enough for three people was resting. "Roxas help me out here, will ya?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Roxas moved over to the robe tying the boat to the dock and started undoing it. He couldn't consciously remember ever working with boats before, but it was like his body remembered and he worked it as if he had a hundred times before. When the boat was all untied, he rolled up the rope and then looked up to see Lea giving him an odd look. "What is it?"

"Huh? Nothing." Lea looked away and held out a hand to help Xion onto the boat. Once she was on Roxas climbed on after, and then Lea kicked the boat away from the dock and started up the engine, and they were off.

Roxas's grip on the side of the boat pants tightened as steadily the main island came more and more into view, as the town came more and more into view – _his_ town.

Sora's town.

**x-x-x**

The town on the Destiny Islands' main island wasn't large. It wasn't exactly small either, but it was the kind of place where if you didn't know someone then you knew someone else who knew them. There were a lot of family-run businesses, mom and pop shops and the like. A mall did exist but was only really frequented by the younger generation, when they weren't at school or playing on the little island across the bay. It wasn't very urbanized either; the buildings grew denser as you came further inland, but never to the point that it could comfortably be called a city. The technology level was also a few decades behind the norm in other worlds: they still had landline phones for example, and personal computers were rare.

Despite only coming to the islands a handful of times and always only for brief visits, Lea had picked up on all of this. After all, the Organization always had its members perform recon whenever they visited a new world. Even after he had betrayed them that habit hadn't vanished; as Axel he'd learned the ins and outs of the Destiny Islands' society while observing Kairi back before he– Well, that wasn't his proudest moment. The point was he knew his way around town.

As they moved through the streets, Lea wondered how much of this was familiar to Roxas and Xion. The few missions they had here in the old days – and he knew it was few because Xemnas wouldn't have risked them running into Kairi – had always only been to the play island. How much of the town did they recognize, even if they didn't realize they did? Roxas had undone the rope at the dock like it was second nature to him, no doubt because Sora had rowed his own boat out to the island every day.

Sora… Lea glanced back at Roxas with concern, but kept it brief so he wouldn't be found out. The kid's mood had definitely worsened just in the time since they spoke on the phone. Lea sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He knew this was going to happen as soon as he heard that their next stop was the Destiny Islands. Sora wasn't a topic that came up often, but whenever he did get mentioned Roxas tended to get into a funk like this. From what Roxas had told him about the stuff in Olympus, 'it's what Sora would do' was what Xion had said to get Roxas to go along with her plan. He didn't think she was intentionally leading him along, the girl was too sweet to be manipulative like that, but it was still honestly a pretty scummy thing for her to say even in the heat of the moment. Though then again, she was just as much a part of Sora as Roxas was. What happened to him probably did bother her too, it was just that her other issues were more prominent.

Yeah – 'other issues'. Now it was Xion's turn to get an over-the-shoulder look from Lea. He was definitely glad to see her hunting seashells when he found them on the play island, because he had to agree with Roxas's assessment, the girl was practically catatonic. How long had this puppet issue been plaguing her? In retrospect that explained a lot about the mornings she'd wake up late and in a sour or quiet mood. It made sense of course, but Lea must have been a pretty crappy friend if he couldn't see it before. Some good he did, wasn't he supposed to watch over them? And here he was berating them for not watching over each other. What a hypocrite.

Lea's eyes scanned the beach as they made their way down a street. That settled it: whether Roxas and Xion wanted to or not, as long as they were at the islands then he'd make a vacation out of it. In addition to proving to him that they could watch over each other, they needed time to just unwind and be kids again. God, they were both only fifteen. Kids shouldn't be going through all this.

They couldn't forget their first reason for being here, though: the Flood of Light was going to emerge and they had to find the Keyhole. Time to hound the locals.

A group of boys around Roxas and Xion's age was walking by, all dressed in matching yellow uniforms and with the blond kid in the front tossing a ball up and down. A sports team then, and judging by the exhaustion on their faces they just finished a game. Lea was about to call out to them but they noticed his group first. The blond kid elbowed an older redhead boy to get his attention, then gestured over to Lea – no, behind Lea. To Xion.

The blond ran up to them while waving his hand above his head. "Hey, Kairi! You're back already– Oh, sorry. Wrong girl."

"Yeah, um. Sorry about that," Xion said, and that was all she said.

The kids stood around in an awkward silence after that, so Lea took the initiative. "Wrong girl maybe, but it helps us all the same. We're friends of Kairi's, and I can see that you are too. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you? And-or Riku, too."

"Uh… They left a while ago and haven't come back, man. Sorry."

"Went to look for Sora, I think," the taller boy added. "Wonder what island he ran off to this time, ya?"

Oh, right. The King had mentioned that Riku and Kairi had left with Donald and Goofy. So their journey was still ongoing. Well this made things difficult. How were they supposed to find the Keyhole now if no one on the island knew what it even was?

The blond kid held out a hand to introduce himself. "Anyway, name's Tidus. My pal here is Wakka. So how do you know Riku and Kairi?"

Lea took Tidus's hand. He had a pretty strong grip, definitely an athlete. "I'm Lea, and this is Roxas and Xion." The two of them gave simple hellos and then when Tidus and Wakka gave them strange looks Lea sighed. "Sorry, a lot has happened recently so they're kind of in a funk."

"Really? Man, that sucks." Tidus threw his arm around Roxas's shoulder and held up the blue and white ball in his hand. "Well you seem like a pretty strong guy. Maybe some blitzball will cheer you up!"

Roxas slipped out of Tidus's grip. "Uh, maybe later. We do need to find–"

"Oh, right. How we know Riku and Kairi. Uh…" Lea hesitated. What was this specific island called again…? Motunui, that was it. It was the largest in a chain of other inhabited islands, like Besaid, and Luca, and… "We're from Kilika, and Xion here is Kairi's cousin."

"Oh, so that's why you look alike. That's a strong family resemblance, ya?" Wakka nodded sagely. "Just like Kairi's other cousin too."

That caught the attention of all three of them. "Other cousin?" Xion and Roxas asked at the same time.

Tidus snapped his fingers and nodded. "Oh, right! A blonde cutie who's been living with Kairi's folks the last few weeks. Man, why is every girl in that family a babe?"

Suddenly, Wakka frowned. "Wait, but come to think of it, wasn't Kairi adopted? So why do her cousins look just like her?"

Lea cut Wakka off there, grabbing both Xion and Roxas by the wrists and tugging them away from the group. "A blonde girl at Kairi's house! Got it, thanks!" Before the trio could grow any more suspicious, they ran off into the streets leaving Tidus and Wakka behind.

Lea came to a stop once they were well out of sight and earshot, and only then let go of Roxas and Xion. He turned to them and chuckled. "I had forgotten she lived here now." Both kids looked happier now that they had heard the news, even if just a little bit.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, she decided to stick around after the party. Terra offered to let her live in Land of Departure too, but she wanted to stay with Kairi."

Xion tapped her chin as she thought. "Last time I spoke to her was just after we all finished our training with Master Aqua. She was worried that school here was starting soon, I wonder if that's come yet?"

"And lucky for us her being here means someone is around who knows what a Keyhole is. Well, come on." Lea jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at a jungle-covered hill behind him. "Kairi's dad is the mayor, so we're looking for the biggest and fanciest house on the island."

Xion and Roxas nodded and turned their heads to follow the road up the hill. Roxas's face had a smile on it once more, even if it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Alright, let's go see Naminé!"


	18. You Made a Good Other

**Chapter 18: You Made a Good Other**

Just like Lea had said, Mayor Braska's house was indeed the largest and fanciest one on the island. It wasn't large enough to be called a mansion, but Kairi's family was still very clearly well off. Standing there on the porch, looking at the front door and the wind chime that hung above his head, brought a sense of nostalgia to Roxas even if he'd never actually been to this place before. He recalled distant half-memories of a boy with messy brown hair running through town and up the hill, coming from his more humble home on the beach to this inland street where his two best friends lived. Sora's own family was hardly poor, but it was always so much cooler to play at the rich kids' homes. Riku's family was the wealthiest on the island even ahead of Kairi's, and he lived right next door to her – for a given definition of 'next door', considering all the yard space Mayor Braska had. Roxas glanced in that direction. He couldn't quite picture Riku's parents, but he wondered how they were handling their son leaving again so soon after he got back. At least Kairi had spent a year on the island between journeys.

Lea's hand on Roxas's shoulder brought his attention from Riku's home back to Kairi's, and then both Lea and Roxas looked to Xion. "Xion, would you mind stepping behind me a little?" Lea asked. He awkwardly rubbed his neck and looked away from her. "It's just, as long as Kairi's gone it'd probably be best if you're not the first person her folks see when they answer the door."

Xion took a second to respond to that, her face unreadable. But she eventually nodded and quietly said, "Yeah, you're right," then shuffled behind Lea's back, just barely poking out from behind him.

"Sorry, kiddo," Lea apologized before he turned back to the front door and taking a breath. "Alright, let's see how Naminé is doing." He rang the doorbell and waited.

"Yes?" The tanned woman who answered the door was middle-aged, her blonde hair cut to shoulder length and her eyes a vibrant green. Mayor Braska's wife – Kairi's mother. Just seeing her sent another nostalgic rush through Roxas. He didn't actually recognize her, not really, but the other side of his heart did. He glanced at Xion beside him, and she gave him a slight nod. She was feeling the same thing.

"Good afternoon, um, Mrs. Braska?" Lea fumbled, unsure of what her name actually was.

"Mahha," she corrected, clearly a little wary of this strange man at her doorstep.

"Mahha, sorry," Lea apologized with a bow of his head. "My name is Lea. I know this may sound weird since we're strangers and all, but we're friends of Kairi's."

At mention of her daughter's name, Mahha crossed her arms and watched Lea warily. "From another world?" she asked.

Well _that_ was a surprising thing for her to say. Lea lost his composure for a moment at that question, but to his credit recovered quickly. "I guess it makes sense Kairi would have told you about that, huh? Yeah, you're right on the money."

Still wary, Mahha glanced from Lea to the faces behind him. When her gaze fell on Roxas her eyes widened and then her expression and stance both softened. Clearly she must have recognized Sora in his face. "You're Roxas, aren't you?" Roxas almost jumped at the question. Another surprise! Just how much did she know? "Naminé's twin brother, right? She's spoken of you a lot."

Roxas chuckled awkwardly and looked down at his shuffling feet. Naminé's twin brother, huh? Yeah…that was something they'd talked about after their reunion during the beach party. To really establish what their relationship was to one another, since they'd barely actually spoken before. Naminé was the one who brought it up, said she'd seen him like that since she first learned about him, and then freaked out worrying he'd be creeped out or offended. But he hadn't been. No way, never with her. And it made sense anyway, given they were both born from the same incident, and hey, they were even both blonde. So he'd taken the label in stride and officially declared himself Naminé's twin brother on the beach that evening – as long as he got to be the older twin.

Roxas looked up at Mahha, met her in the eyes. "Yes ma'am, that's me," he said with a nod.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Mahha said with a smile, and in that heartfelt expression Roxas could see the resemblance to Kairi. Even if there was no blood relation that smile, the way her eyes squinted just a bit as her lips raised, was undeniable.

When Mahha's gaze turned to Xion, still sort of hiding behind Lea, her smile did falter. Long moments of silence passed between the two as Mahha had to slowly register who it was she was looking at. Kairi dyed her hair? No, of course not. No mother would mistake their daughter for someone else, no matter how strong the resemblance. Mahha's smile returned, but it was a more somber one this time. "And you must be Xion. I've heard a lot about you too."

Xion awkwardly pushed some hair behind her ear. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am," she said with her head low.

Even Xion's voice seemed to hit something inside Mahha, and she had to steady herself before continuing. "Lea, Roxas, Xion. What can I do for the three of you? Is Kairi alright?"

"As far as we know, she and Riku are doing just fine," Lea replied. "They've got a wonderful knight and wizard watching over them, the same duo who watched over Sora."

Mahha chuckled, but her motherly concern was still plain as day. "Well if they managed that handful, then I guess the kids are in good hands. So what brings you here to the islands?"

"Well, we're on the islands on Keyblade business. But we're at your home today because, well…" Lea looked up at one of the second floor windows.

"Is Naminé home?" Xion asked. The sudden question surprised both Roxas and Lea; she'd been so quiet.

"Yes, she should be." Mahha looked back over her shoulder at a staircase against the far wall of the front room. "School is starting soon so she's probably making sure everything is ready. The poor girl is so nervous, and I can't blame her. Not only her first day of high school, but her first day of school ever."

"We already dealt with that back in Twilight Town." Lea jabbed a hand over his shoulder, pointing to both Roxas and Xion. "Something tells me Naminé isn't as much of a wreck as these two numbskulls were."

Xion pouted. "I was _not_ a wreck!"

Roxas couldn't hide his grin, even despite the mood that had hung over him since arriving on the islands. "Xion, you missed the train because you kept checking and re-checking your bag."

Mahha shrugged a little helplessly. "Whether she's really keeping together or just good at hiding it, I think it would do Naminé some good to see some friends. Especially the two people she talks about the most." She smiled at both Roxas and Xion and then stepped aside, motioning for her three guests. "Please, come in. Naminé's room is the second on your right upstairs."

"Thanks. We won't be a bother." Lea led Roxas and Xion inside and up the stairs. It was a house that was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside, and Mahha clearly did a thorough job of taking care of it. As they climbed the stairs Roxas looked at some pictures hanging on the wall, some were of Kairi ranging from when she was first adopted up to the present, and some were of Mahha with a man who he guessed was Mayor Braska.

And there it was, the second room on the right. Lea stood aside for Roxas or Xion to be the ones to open the door, and Xion was the first to reach it. She knocked once but didn't wait before opening the door, revealing a tidy room with a lot of white furniture, and a familiar blonde girl fidgeting in front of a mirror.

Naminé wasn't wearing her familiar sundress, and was instead dressed in a button-up white shirt, a sky blue skirt, and navy blue knee-high socks. A tie that matched the skirt was in her hands. It looked like a school uniform, which fit with what Mahha had said. She didn't notice them at first, so focused on her reflection with a nervous anxiety clear on her face. She tried tying the tie, but when she couldn't get it right she tossed it onto her bed. Only then did she notice the trio reflected behind her in the mirror, and jumped in surprise before spinning around with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

"Roxas! Xion!"

Naminé dashed over to them and Xion held out her arms to meet her. The two embraced in a deep hug; even though they'd only spoken once in the old days, they had hit it off immediately during the reunion party on the beach. Behind Lea and Roxas, Naminé was probably Xion's closest friend now. Seeing Naminé could only do Xion good after what happened in Olympus.

"It's so good to see you!" Naminé exclaimed happily after pulling out of the hug, and then she turned to Roxas and embraced him, much to his own awkward surprise. "And you too, Roxas!"

"It's been a little while, hasn't it?" Roxas asked as he pat Naminé on the back. "Looks like you're starting school soon?"

Naminé pulled back from the hug and fiddled with her shirt collar. "Yes. Mahha has been very kind and helpful getting me settled, and now it's time to take the next step." She wrapped her arms around her abdomen. "But I didn't expect to be so nervous."

"That's normal," Xion said with a slight smile. "But the uniform looks good on you! Twilight Town's has blazers, but I think those would be too much for this weather."

Naminé looked down at herself and tugged on the ends of her skirt. "Thanks. Kairi went with me to buy it right before she and Riku left."

"Oh yeah, how has Riku been?"

"_Ahem_." Behind the group, Lea loudly cleared his throat. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward. "What, don't I get a hello too?"

"Oh! Hello, Lea. It's good to see you too."

"Likewise, Naminé. I'm glad to see you've settled in here. You may want to expand your color palette though."

Naminé rubbed her arm and looked around the room, at the white bed, white dresser, and white everything else. They were all new stuff too, not hand-me-downs. The only color in the room was a cup full of colored pencils at her desk…and of course the drawings hanging from every inch of wall space. "I didn't want to be a bother and would have been fine with the guest room, but Mahha and Braska both insisted on treating me like part of the family and went out to buy all this. They've gone further then they needed to."

Lea waved a hand. "Nonsense. You're their daughter now just as much as Kairi is, and so they're going to treat you no worse than her. Get used to it, girlie."

Naminé's face flushed and she shuffled her feet. "So, well, um… What brings you three to the islands?"

"Keyblade business. Did Radiant Garden catch you up to speed about the Flood of Light?"

"Ienzo called me to talk about it, yes." And then her eyes widened as the realization caught up to her. "Oh no, don't tell me–" But their grim expressions did the talking for them. Naminé nervously glanced out her window.

"Anyway, some…other stuff…happened on the last world they went to," and Lea looked at Roxas and Xion, who had both gone back into 'moping mode' now that he brought it up. "So I decided to join in and keep an eye on them."

"Stuff?" Naminé raised an eyebrow and gave Roxas and Xion a worried but curious look.

Xion shrugged. "It's…kind of a long story," she said. "Don't worry about it, really."

Now Naminé gave Lea a look, and he nodded at whatever silent question she was asking him. She sighed and shrugged. "I…guess I won't push. But going back a bit, you're here about the Flood of Light?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know where the Keyhole is here, would you? The faster these two can do their thing, the better."

At this, Naminé bit her lip. Her hair bounced lightly as she shook her head, and the mood in the room had already dampened before she spoke. "Sorry, I don't. I don't know where to even begin searching for it."

_Great…_ Roxas slouched forward at the news, but honestly, what had they been expecting? Naminé wouldn't have been any more aware of the Keyhole's location than the rest of them. But she was their only real shot, since no one else on the island even knew what a Keyhole _was_.

The room had gone quiet and the atmosphere heavy. "So what if Naminé doesn't know? We can still find it, we got time and all of us know our way around here. Right, guys?" No response. Lea grunted under his breath as he looked around the room, clearly trying to think of something to lighten the mood. His eyes fell on one of Naminé's many drawings. He walked over to it and reached up to pluck it from its place on the wall, then thought better of touching her things and simply tapped the paper to get their attention. "Hey Naminé, who's this drawing of? It's no one I recognize."

Even if the question was only addressed to Naminé, curiosity got the better of Roxas and Xion and they glanced at the drawing too. It was a young woman neither of them knew either, with dark skin and darker hair. She was dressed in traditional islander clothes, a kind that no one living on the Destiny Islands had worn in centuries.

"She's a hero from one of the old legends on this island." Naminé stepped up beside Lea and pointed out another drawing next to the girl, one of a green stone floating through the ocean. "A long time ago, the heart of the world went missing. The world started to die because of it; fish vanishing from the ocean and so on. This girl found the heart and crossed the ocean to return it, while learning who she was along the way."

Roxas frowned. That story sounded really familiar, and not just in the 'I heard it once in passing' sort of way, either. It must have been a story that Sora had been pretty immersed in during his childhood, for it to still affect Roxas like this despite his memories of Sora's life being foggy at best.

"Sounds kind of familiar," Xion commented.

Roxas looked over to her. "You too?"

She nodded, as much to herself as to Roxas. "I think it was an important story to Sora."

"Yeah. Just what I was thinking." Lea and Naminé had turned to the two of them, so Roxas continued. "I think that Sora really liked that story as a kid. I think, maybe, that the adventure part of it was probably a big part of why he wanted to go see other worlds. He wanted to go on a journey and see wonderful sights like the girl in the story did."

"It does sound like his kind of thing, doesn't it?" Naminé giggled.

Despite himself, Roxas couldn't help but smile at that too. That was the first time he'd had a positive feeling associated with Sora since he arrived on Destiny Islands. Damn it, even when people were trying to deal with him being gone, somehow Sora _still_ found a way to cheer them up.

Naminé held her arm behind her back. As if she was reading his mind, she said, "He really was one of a kind, wasn't he?" Was it written on his face?

"Yeah, he was," Roxas said. And then suddenly, a thought occurred to him. His mind wandered to Mahha downstairs, and how just looking at Xion was enough to make it clear how much she missed Kairi. What about Sora's parents? How much did they know about what happened to him, and what were they going through right now that he'd left again? "Naminé, have you gone to see his family at all?"

The question visibly surprised her, and after a moment she shook her head. "No, I haven't. I hadn't even thought about it." She held her hands in front of her, maybe a sign that now she felt guilty for not doing so.

Beside Roxas Xion bit at her nail in thought. "Do you think we should?"

Roxas let out a breath. "…I dunno. I don't want to upset her by showing her, you know, this." He gestured at his face. "But then again, Mahha wasn't too bothered by you…"

"I say it's a great idea!" Lea said, walking over and slapping his hand down on Roxas's shoulder.

"Y-You do?" Roxas sputtered.

"Sure. A talk with his mom, a walk around his house? It might be just the thing you need to get you out of this Sora-related funk. It's a heck of a lot better than moping around, at least."

"I think I agree," Naminé said. "I don't really know what's been bothering you, Roxas, but if it's about Sora then it definitely wouldn't hurt to stop by his house."

You know what? It didn't sound like an awful idea, no. He was definitely nervous at the prospect of it, but Lea and Naminé were right. "Alright then, let's head down to Sora's house. Oh, and…" He turned toward Naminé with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry this visit was a short one, Naminé. Let's all hang out tomorrow maybe?"

Naminé beamed. "Sure! I'll be here."

**x-x-x**

Contrary to Riku and Kairi living inland, Sora's home was on the beach. It was right across from the play island, in fact. It was a more humble home than the large one they had just visited, but that wasn't to say Sora's family was in a bad state financially or anything. They had just what they needed to get by, and they were happy with that. Sora's father was a fisherman, and his mother would sometimes volunteer at the elementary school. Roxas could remember that much, but he couldn't recall their names or what they looked like. When he asked Xion she wasn't able to provide much more than that either.

And so Lea, Roxas, and Xion found themselves on a stranger's doorstep for the second time that day. This time it was Roxas's turn to be mostly out of sight, hiding behind Lea as Lea rang the doorbell. The first thing Roxas noticed about the woman who answered the door was her familiar blue eyes. The second was her hair color, black; at this Roxas glanced over to Xion, who had noticed as well and was inquisitively tugging at a lock of her own hair. So that's where the color had come from.

"Can I help you?" the woman – Sora's mother – asked.

Lea cleared his throat. "Hello, ma'am. Sorry to intrude this evening. We're, um… Well, we're friends of Sora's."

The woman's eyes shot wide at that, and she pushed the door further open to step outside. "Do you have news?!"

Lea winced at that. "S-Sorry, no. Riku and Kairi are the ones out looking for him, and we haven't kept up with them."

"Kairi? But I thought–" She trailed off and gave Xion a curious look. "I thought Kairi had dyed her hair, but you're not her?"

Xion shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "I'm sorry, and why I'm not is a long story. How much do you know about Sora's journeys?"

"More than I'd like, less than I should," she said with a wry smile. "But he did tell me about some things when he came home with Riku before…" She locked eyes with Roxas and Lea stepped aside as she moved forward. Before Roxas could react Sora's mother had taken his face in her hands and examined him with a distant, sad look in her eyes. "You look so much like him." She lowered her hands and bowed her head. "It's nice to finally meet you, Roxas."

Roxas's chest had contracted the moment the woman had touched him. His heart had ached, ringing out with a feeling so much like the one he associated with Twilight Town: the sense of being home. At a loss for words, Roxas simply nodded in response to her.

Sora's mother looked between Lea, Xion, and Roxas and then gestured inside. "My name is Aoi. Please, come inside. Make yourselves at home."

"I'm Lea, and this is Xion, and it looks like you know Roxas." Lea was the first one to pass through the front door, and he motioned for the others to follow.

The front door led right into the kitchen, decorated with beach paraphernalia: a trio of surfboards hung on the walls, sand in glass bottles sat on shelves, and a fisherman's net hung from the ceiling. Roxas picked up a framed photo that was sitting on the kitchen table, one of Sora sitting on the shoulders of his father, a man who looked just like Sora would if he were twenty years older, with the same spiky brown hair and goofy grin.

"My husband's on a fishing trip, so it's just us here." Aoi sat down first and motioned for the others to follow her lead. "Sora told me a bit about you Roxas, but I was under the impression that Kairi's Nobody was that pretty young girl who was staying with Mahha. So I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you, Xion?"

Xion winced. "That's…a long story. Sora didn't know about me yet when he was here last. In some ways, I'm a lot like Roxas."

Roxas stared down at his hands in his lap as he started talking. "It started seven days after I was born…"

The next few hours were spent with Roxas and Xion, and every now and then Lea, explaining everything their stories in full and how they were connected to Sora. By the time they finished with their reunion at the Keyblade Graveyard, night had fallen. Aoi was sniffing and dabbing at her eyes with a napkin.

"Oh, Sora… I always knew you were something special, young man…" Despite her distraught tone, there was a smile on her face. She sniffed once more and stood up, walking over to Roxas and Xion and then, to their surprise, dropping to her knees and embracing both in a hug right there on the spot. "And the two of you. You've been through so, so much, and you're just kids. Just as much my kids as Sora."

Roxas's heart tore in two at those words, but in a good way if that was even possible. He could feel that nostalgia, that sense of home, bubbling up from the other side of his heart and knew that wherever he was, Sora wanted nothing more at that moment than to come home and hug his mother. And so he did. Roxas returned the hug, holding tight onto Aoi as sobs of relief and sadness both worked his way up his throat. Was this something like how Sora felt when he had to say goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette? Maybe, or maybe not. Right now all Roxas knew was that the part of him connected to Sora was letting everything out. And beside him, Xion was doing the same. Both of them were clinging to Aoi and crying into her shoulders as she held them tightly.

"I've felt…so empty. So _hollow_," Roxas said. "Ever since he disappeared there was a hole in my heart that just hasn't gone away." And coming here had brought it all the forefront.

"I know. I know." Aoi pulled back to look Xion and Roxas both in the eyes in turn. She wiped at her wet cheeks and they did the same. "I feel exactly the same. And no matter how hard it may have been for you to come here to this world, I'm glad that you did. I'm glad that I met you both. Roxas. Xion."

Xion nodded as she squeezed her eyes shut and some more tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands clutched at her chest. "Sora misses you, Aoi. He misses you so much, wherever he is."

"Then let him know I miss him, too. And that I love him, and that once he comes back I'm never letting him go again."

Xion sniffled. "I think he knows."

Aoi stood up and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Well, it's getting a little late. I wasn't expect dinner for four, but I'll put something together. And feel free to spend the night here, as many nights as you want before you leave."

Lea looked up. "You don't have to–"

Aoi held a hand up, silencing any protests then and there. "I do. You're family, right?"

Roxas grinned, and from the way Aoi looked at him, he wondered if it was a Sora grin. "Thank you, Aoi. Um… Would you mind if I, um, saw Sora's room?"

Aoi didn't even miss a beat. "Of course, Roxas. Take all the time you need."

Roxas stood up and bowed his head. "Thank you."

His heart knew where Sora's room was without needing to ask, and his body climbed the stairs on autopilot as if he had done so his entire life. When Roxas slowly opened the door, the dark room looked completely untouched. His head rushed at the sight, his chest tightened again. He examined the fishing harpoons leaning against the walls, all the toys and even dirty clothes scattered across the floor were in the same place.

Sitting down on the bed, Roxas gazed out the window to the play island across the water. "Please…" he whispered. He ran his hand atop the sheets and rested his head against his arm on the windowsill.

How was this okay? How was this allowed? Here everyone was, happy and alive, but at the expense of the best of all of them. Forget the Flood of Light, Roxas should be out there with Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. He should be at the forefront in fact. He should be trying to find a way to save Sora! If he had the power of waking–

…

…_No_, Roxas berated himself. No, the power of waking wasn't what he needed. It was what had put them here in the first place. The power to free a heart from its sleep, to traverse hearts to reach worlds. It would work because it had worked for Sora, he'd brought back all the guardians of light with it at the Graveyard and then brought Kairi back a second time too, but it would cost Roxas everything just like it had Sora. And Roxas would be willing to do it! Sora had saved him, and he wanted to return the favor. But he couldn't put Sora and the others through this pain he felt right now. Couldn't put Lea through it. Couldn't put Xion through it.

"You helped me find my way back here…" Roxas whispered to no one. "So please, Sora…"

"Please come back..."

* * *

_I desperately wanted to have Yuna be Kairi's sister, but I'm keeping this canon-compliant so Yuna is a little treasure hunting fairy instead of living on Destiny Islands._

_Mahha's name comes from translating "Lenne", a character from FFX-2 who resembles Yuna, into Al Bhed. Unfortunately Braska's Al Bhed wife didn't actually have a name in FFX so I had to come up with one. That's not to say she is Lenne though, just named after her._

_Aoi is Japanese for blue, following from Sora being Japanese for sky._


	19. Destiny's Fire

**Chapter 19: Destiny's Fire**

Roxas had plenty of trouble getting to sleep that night, but once he finally was in dreamland he got a surprisingly good rest. Maybe the stress of it all finally got to him, or maybe all the crying wore him out, or perhaps it was the part of him that was Sora reacting to being on the islands. Regardless of what caused him to crash like that, by the time the sun was up in Sora's room Roxas woke up feeling the best he had since this whole adventure started. Yes, Sora's room; it had been awkward, but Aoi had insisted. And perhaps that was another reason he'd slept so well.

Too bad the bed wasn't big enough for two people, though.

Unlike Lea who was on the couch downstairs, Xion had also ended up sleeping in Sora's room. Roxas looked down at her laying on an inflatable mattress that Aoi had brought in. It was softer than the floor certainly, but Roxas felt bad because it still wasn't as comfortable as the bed would have been. But Xion had told him to have the bed, and both had been too tired to argue.

Roxas watched as the sunlight fell on Xion and she stirred, a mop of messy black hair all that was visible above the sheets. She fought against the light by pulling her head further under the sheets, but it was futile and she knew it. With a soft groan Xion pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes.

Roxas crossed his legs and propped his chin up with his hand. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning," Xion replied while stifling a yawn. After she wiped the sleep from her face and then took a moment to look around the room, remembering where they were, she looked back at him. "Are you doing okay?"

What a thing to ask first thing in the morning. But the way she was looking at him, the concern evident on her face, stopped Roxas from quipping about her asking such a thing before breakfast. "Yeah, actually. Better than yesterday for sure." He glanced out the window, toward the play island across the water. It was so clear outside that it was like he could reach out and touch the island. "I had a lot of trouble last night when I came up here…I kind of, broke down, I guess. Next thing I knew Aoi was beside me with her hand on my back."

"That's right, she did leave me and Lea for a little bit," Xion said with a bit of realization in her voice.

Roxas turned back to Xion. "Aoi and I talked all the way until you came in a little while later. About Sora, and about stupid stuff. Like how Sora would always talk loudly in a pirate accent when he rowed his boat out to the play island."

Xion held a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "He did do that, didn't he?"

Roxas looked around the room, at all of Sora's belongings, with a sad smile. "That talk helped me a lot. I'm not over it – I don't know if I'll _ever_ be 'over it' – but I feel a lot better now." As he was talking Xion was glancing into a mirror that had been in one of Sora's piles of junk and combing through her hair with her fingers. "What about you?" Roxas asked. "Did you…have any nightmares?"

Xion's hand had gradually slowed as he spoke, until it came to a full stop at the last word. She set the mirror down in her lap and looked at Roxas almost apologetically. "I wish I could say no, I really do." The way Roxas's heart fell at those words must have been plain on his face, because she hurried to add, "They weren't the worst I've ever had, and I think that's because I was in the room with you." She glanced down at her hands as she twined her fingers together. "But 'not the worst' doesn't mean they weren't bad. My scars did kind of get torn open all over again."

"Xion…" Roxas slid off of the bed and down beside her onto the inflatable mattress. He wrapped a hand around her shoulder and held her tight. "Well, we'll work on cheering you up, then. After all, Naminé is here."

Xion looked back up at him, and the morning sun combined with the way she looked at him made Roxas's breath catch in his throat. "Naminé's here…and you too, Roxas," she said with a smile.

"I– Uh– Y-Yeah," Roxas fumbled.

Xion giggled again and climbed up to her feet. She stretched her arms above her head and made a satisfied noise as she did so. Then she paused, sniffed, and tilted her head. "Do you smell that?"

Roxas sniffed the air as he stood up. "Smells like…bacon? I guess Aoi is cooking breakfast. What time even is– Eleven?!" Roxas's jaw dropped as he looked at the clock on Sora's desk. So much for thinking that he was an early riser for once – talk about sleeping in! He sheepishly rubbed his neck as he looked back at Xion. "I guess it's more like she's making brunch."

Xion shrugged and gestured toward the door. "Come on, let's go get ready. Remember, we've got a day with Axel and Naminé!"

As Roxas and Xion turned to the door, they didn't realize it was open a crack, and just barely missed the bright red hair moving out of the way. Their heart to heart, the first step on proving themselves able to face their fears and watch over each other as Lea wanted, had not gone unnoticed.

**x-x-x**

By the time Roxas, Xion, and Lea had showered, gotten dressed, and eaten Aoi's wonderful home-cooked brunch, morning had become noon. Fresh, rested, and bellies full, the three of them once again made their way up the hills of Destiny Islands toward Naminé's home. As they came up the road to the mayor's house, they were somewhat surprised at the sight on the front porch. It wasn't so surprising that Naminé was outside waiting for them, but rather what she was wearing: she was clad in the Destiny Islands school uniform once again, and once again sans tie. Moreover, her hair was tied into an almost sporty ponytail by a light blue ribbon.

Lea let out a low whistle as they caught her attention. "Naminé, I'm liking the look! Why the school uniform though?"

"Thank you, Lea," Naminé said with a smile. She looked down at herself and turned around as she examined the outfit. "I'm just trying to get comfortable. I always wore that dress, and since I'm gonna be spending a lot of time in this once school starts, I want to be used to it."

"Hey, makes sense to me." Lea pointed to the back of his head and then nodded at her. "And the hairdo?"

Xion moved a bit behind Naminé to examine it. It was almost alien to see her with a different hairstyle, especially when 'sporty' was never a word you'd use to describe her. "That ribbon is pretty, Naminé!"

Naminé's face turned bright pink while her fingers fidgeted with the ribbon. "Thanks, Xion. Um, Riku gave it to me after I got settled in. A housewarming present, he called it."

Lea's eyebrows shot up at that. Ohoho, a gift from Riku was it? Well, well, if that wasn't wonderful fuel to tease Riku with the next time they saw him. As Xion and Naminé continued chatting, Lea glanced over to Roxas who gave him a look. The kid was thinking the same thing, and he didn't even need to say words to make that much clear. And moreover, that Roxas was even in a state of mind to think about that was a win in Lea's book. He sure as heck wasn't yesterday.

"Lea?" Naminé approached Lea from the side and peered up at him, one hand gripping her other arm behind her back.

Lea blinked and glanced down at her. "You say something? Sorry. I musta zoned out."

The slightest of frowns tugged at her lips. "I was asking what you wanted to do today. You said you guys would come 'hang out' with me, but I don't even know what the plan is."

Now it was Lea's turn to be embarrassed. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck while averting his gaze. He hadn't actually thought further than spending the day trying to get Roxas and Xion to feel better. "Well, uh, what do teenagers normally do around here?"

Naminé bit her lip and looked down the road, toward the more densely-packed buildings further inland. Clearly she didn't actually know how to answer Lea's question. It would seem that her more outgoing appearance was still only an appearance. "I guess there's the mall…?"

"Mall?" Xion asked. Her question almost made Lea do a double-take before he realized that Twilight Town didn't actually have one of those.

"A bunch of shops; sort of like the Tram Common, but all in one big building." Lea clapped his hands together. "Hey, sounds good to me! You know the way, Naminé?" Not that he didn't with all the scouting of the islands he'd done in the past, but letter to let the kids lead.

"It's… Well, 'downtown' isn't the right word, but it's that sort of area."

"And you've been to this place?" Roxas asked.

Naminé nodded. "Once or twice, with Riku and Kairi. Not since they've left though. But I remember the way there: it's down the road, maybe a twenty minute walk."

"Simple enough directions! Roxas, Xion, you two mind leading the way?"

The two kids glanced at each other and made sounds of confusion under their breaths before turning back to Lea. "Shouldn't we be looking for the Keyhole, Axel?" Roxas asked.

Lea leaned his head back and crossed his arms over his chest. Yeah, of course. It's not like he had forgotten after all; that was the whole reason that the Destiny Islands were the specific world they had come to. But they could hit two birds with one stone here. "We will be. As we spend our day just having fun and winding down across the island, at the mall and wherever else today takes us, we'll all keep an eye out for the Keyhole, too." More unsure glances were shared between Roxas and Xion, and so with a sigh Lea planted his hands on their shoulders. "I know that's our priority, but remember the other reason we're here, you two. You need to prove to me you can emotionally handle all this and won't go catatonic on each other. So we'll do both. Got it memorized?"

Even if he wasn't looking at her at the moment, Lea could practically _feel _the worried look Naminé was giving the three of them with those words. That's right, they'd kind of skipped over the subject yesterday. She needed to know too.

When Roxas and Xion finally relented, Lea gave them gentle shoves. "So like I said, you mind leading the way?"

"Um, sure…" Xion glanced down the road. "Just follow this for a few minutes?" She and Roxas started walking at a casual pace, but Lea didn't follow.

Beside him, Naminé's look of concern hadn't relented. "Lea, what did you mean by them 'emotionally handling' this?"

Lea sighed again, and as he started following Xion and Roxas he kept a few yards between them and kept his voice low. This wasn't exactly a secret, but the less they heard him talk about this the better. That way it wouldn't be on their minds as much. And besides, they wouldn't want Naminé to worry about them.

"Roxas and Xion were both in a pretty bad way yesterday, Naminé. Some bad stuff happened to Xion in Olympus that reopened still-healing wounds with Xehanort, and then coming to this world just brought all of Roxas's feelings about Sora to the forefront."

Naminé bit her lip as she listened, but said nothing.

"I'm trying to put on a happy face so they'll not worry about it as much. This trip is just as much about proving to me that they can watch out for each other and handle this adventure as it is about stopping the Flood of Light."

Naminé's brow furrowed a bit. "You know that won't–" Lea cut her off with his hand held up.

"I know that won't solve the underlying issue. But baby steps, you know? So for today, Naminé, can you do me a favor? Help me keep an eye on both of them. Let's see how stable they are, and how much they enjoy themselves."

"…Okay, Lea." Naminé nodded, and a smile tugged on her lips. "You can count on me."

Lea grinned and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, kiddo."

They quickened their pace to catch up to Roxas and Xion, and the four made small talk as they continued further inland and further into town. The buildings steadily grew denser as they moved from the neighborhoods into the commercial district; like Naminé said it wasn't exactly urban enough to be called 'downtown', but it was pretty reminiscent of Market Street, if less crowded. After just about twenty minutes had passed they came upon the mall, kind of standing out amongst the mom and pop stores around it. A billboard near the entrance labeled it as 'Sugar Fields Mall' accompanied by a picture of the fake-smiling face of a businessman with eerily familiar silver-white hair.

"'Sugar Fields'?" Xion asked while looking around. There sure wasn't any sugarcane here.

"I was confused too until Riku explained it to me," Naminé said. She gestured to the businessman on the billboard. "Riku's family got rich off of the sugar trade a few generations ago, and they own the land the mall's built on." Oh, so that guy was Riku's old man? Now that she mentioned it, the resemblance was there. "They own most of the land in the Destiny Islands, actually. The smaller islands like Besaid and Kilika do have people living there, but they're a lot less populated than Motunui and used primarily for sugar plantations."

Roxas tapped his chin with a hum. "This is all vaguely familiar. I think Tidus's father has a problem with Riku's family owning so much, for some reason." All Naminé could respond to that with was a shrug, which Roxas mimicked in defeat. "I wish Sora's memories were clearer."

Lea slapped Roxas in the back and he nearly toppled over from it. "Enough worrying about middle-aged men and their bickering! Some on, let's see what this place is all about."

While Lea had seen Sugar Fields Mall from the outside when he had scouted the Destiny Islands for the Organization, he'd never been inside. To his surprise, it wasn't really 'inside.' The stores were all indoors, but the mall itself with its benches, potted plants, and other standard mall scenery was all open air. He supposed it must have been because the islands had such nice weather year-round; the mall he was used to from Radiant Garden was completely enclosed, but winter was cold there.

And so as Lea insisted the four of them spent the next few hours just enjoying their time, but keeping an eye out around every corner for signs of the Keyhole. And their first stop, again at Lea's insistence, was a shop imaginatively named 'Game!' with the font of the sign designed to look blocky and pixelated. But when they entered the shop Lea's good mood quickly faded as he slouched over in disappointment.

"This isn't a _game store_, it's an arcade!" Naminé and Xion moved past Lea as he moped at the entrance, looking at the nearby Fix-It Felix Jr. cabinet with disappointment. He kicked at the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was hoping to pick up something for our PlayPlus."

Beside Lea, Roxas looked around at the arcade with a little bit of interest. "The islands' technology seems a couple decades behind Twilight Town's. I doubt they have any home consoles, let alone PlayPlus." He gently pat Lea on the back in faux sympathy. "Don't worry, we've still got that unopened Wall Street Ninja waiting at home. We'll play it when this is all over."

Uh, yeah, 'unopened'. Lea coughed and looked away. He didn't have the heart to tell Roxas about that all-night game session he had a few days ago.

"Roxas, Lea, look at this!" Naminé called over to them from a little ways away, where she and Xion stood beside a large screen with a silver pad on the floor in front of it, and on the pad were several colored buttons meant to be stepped on. "It's some kind of dancing game. I'm trying to convince Xion to play."

Lea rubbed his chin as he watched the bright lights flash on the title screen. "Really? You interested, Xion?"

Xion shook her head and waved her hands in front of her. "I'm fine, really! There's so many people here–"

Lea propped one hand on his hip. "So? You're too good of a dancer to embarrass yourself!"

Naminé clasped her hands together. "Please, Xion? You've told me about your dance classes over the Gummiphone, but I want to see the results myself!" She turned to Roxas. "Don't you too? You know she'd be great!"

Called on the spot, Roxas all but jumped in surprise. But when he responded, he was completely confident in his words. "Absolutely. Xion could win the high score without breaking a sweat, I'm sure of it."

The arcade wasn't very brightly lit, but it didn't need to be for them to know that Xion's face was turning bright pink from all the compliments, and Roxas tipped her over the edge. "Alright, alright! I'll try the game!"

As Xion stepped onto the dance pad, Lea hid a grin. What a way to get her confidence up. _Naminé, you are a lot more sly than I give you credit for._

Xion inserted some munny into the machine, and with very little warning a chiptune pop song began blasting out the speakers as a series of colored arrows flashed by on the screen. But even with such an abrupt start, Xion didn't miss a beat. Soon enough Lea, Roxas, and even the reserved Naminé were cheering and clapping enough to catch the attention of some of the arcade's other customers.

Fifteen minutes later and Xion was leaning back on a bench as she rested the nice, cold plastic of a smoothie cup against her sweat-slick face. "That was…something," she muttered.

Naminé giggled between sips of her own paopu smoothie. "You got the high score, just like Roxas said you would!"

"I didn't want to attract a crowd though."

"And you still nailed it despite everyone watching! Way to go, girl!" Lea clapped his hands while half an ice cream sandwich hung from his mouth. He swallowed the rest and tossed the wrapper into a nearby trashcan like it was a basketball. "Alright, where to next?"

After that musical showing, their next stop at Sugar Fields Mall was at Roxas's insistence. A sports goods store seemed perhaps out of place for him, but he'd gone in hoping to find something to repair or outright replace the rickety skateboard Hayner had given him as a hand-me-down, everyone was surprised to see that the hot item at the shop was a familiar blue foam bat. An entire wall was absolutely covered in Struggle bats of various shapes and sizes.

Roxas picked one off the rack and gave it a test swing. "Since when was Struggle on the islands?"

Beside him Xion's arm glowed with white nothingness as she replicated a Struggle bat from Twilight Town and held it up to compare with the one Roxas had picked up. The two bats looked identical in every way…until Xion caught sight of an engraving on the handle of the shop's. She'd seen that same logo in Twilight Town, at both the bistro and the outdoor theater: McDuck Enterprises. "Did Mr. McDuck introduce Struggle to the islands?"

"That's cultural appropriation," Lea quipped.

"Well well, if it isn't Kairi's cute cousins! And friends, of course." The group turned at the familiar voice as a mop of messy blond hair approached them. Tidus wiggled his eyebrows at Xion and Naminé, and Lea was about to ask him what he was doing here when he spotted the nametag. What, the kid worked at this place? "Anything I can help you folks with?" He looked at the bats in Roxas and Xion's hands. "Oh, you play?"

"Uh, yeah."

Lea slung his arm over Roxas's shoulder. "Roxas here is the Struggle champ back home!"

"Axel, he doesn't need to know…" Roxas trailed off when he heard Tidus snickering, then shot the other boy a look. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just, you said you were from Kilika right?" Tidus picked up another Struggle bat from the rack and gave it a swing. "I guess I haven't been there myself, but since Struggle is so new I don't know what kind of games you were playing to be able to say you're a champ."

"I've got the trophy to prove it!" Roxas snapped, but then he pulled back. "Uh…at home."

"Uh huh. Well how about a match then? We've got a setup in the back room."

Naminé tilted her head in confusion. "Um, aren't you working?"

Tidus winked at her then shouted over to the front of the shop. "Hey Wakka, cover for me! Me and that Kilika kid from yesterday are gonna have a Struggle game!"

You could practically hear the eye roll in Wakka's voice when he shouted back. "Alright, but you got fifteen minutes, yeah?"

Tidus turned back to Roxas. "Plenty of time. You in?"

Roxas stared at the Struggle bat in his hand for a moment before Xion shoved him in the shoulder. "Come on. I played that dancing game."

Roxas smiled and took a breath. "Okay Tidus, you're on."

"That's what I like to hear!"

Tidus led them into the back of the shop and through a door, where what appeared to be a boxing ring was set up with the McDuck Enterprises logo on the floor. He tossed Roxas a familiar velcro vest and helmet with blue balls attached all over it, then put on one of his own with yellow balls and hopped in the ring.

Wakka gave them fifteen minutes – it didn't take even half that.

Tidus crashed onto the floor of the ring with all his balls stripped from his vest and helm, while Roxas was only missing a third. As Lea tossed both kids a towel and Xion and Naminé handed them bottles of water, Tidus climbed up to his feet and rested against the ropes on the edge of the ring. "Okay, okay, I believe you. You're definitely a Struggle champ."

Roxas chuckled and wiped his brow. "Right."

Tidus took another moment to catch his breath and then started laughing. "Man, I dunno what it was, but playing against you reminded me of fighting Sora on the beach back in the old days."

Roxas hesitated…and then let out a laugh of his own. "It was nice, yeah. Play you again?" He held out his hand, and Tidus clasped it.

"Any time! Uh, when it's not blitz season, that is."

Roxas ended up purchasing replacement wheels for his skateboard, they parted ways with Tidus, and as they were making their way back out into the mall Naminé spoke up. "Um, Tidus handed me this when I gave him his water… What do I do with it?" She held up a small piece of paper.

Xion examined it curiously. "Numbers?"

Roxas looked over both girls' shoulders. "A phone number maybe? But what for?"

As the three of them stared in confusion at the slip of paper, Lea had to physically stop himself from cracking up in public.

And several more hours passed at Sugar Fields Mall before afternoon slowly started to approach evening. Sunset hadn't hit yet, but it would be any time now. Roxas, Xion, Lea, and Naminé sat at a table in the food court munching on what else but sea salt ice cream bars when Lea slammed his hand on the table. "I've got it!"

The other three jumped in surprise at his sudden shout, and more than a few stares turned their way. "Got what? And sit down, Lea!" Xion reprimanded him.

Lea looked down; he hadn't even realized he'd stood up. Apologizing softly he sat back down in his seat. "I've got the best idea. As long as we're at the Destiny Islands there's only one way to end today: we take a trip to the beach!"

Roxas and Xion's faces both lit up at that, just like Lea knew they would. And then just to assuage any other concerns he added, "Besides, we can't just stick around the mall forever. We've still gotta find that Keyhole, and I'd say after this trip we can be certain it's not here."

"I guess that's true, but uh…" Roxas and Xion exchanged glances and then looked back to Lea. "Axel, we didn't exactly pack swimsuits with us."

Naminé's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "I, um, don't own one at all."

Lea rolled his eyes and tapped his head. "And what's the problem? Come on guys, we're in a _mall_. You think I haven't already planned ahead?"

And as Lea pulled out a brochure with a map of Sugar Fields to point out the swimsuit shop he'd spotted and made a mental note of earlier that day, Roxas, Xion, and Naminé all uttered the same thing: "Oh no."

**x-x-x**

Beneath the beautiful orange sky, the door to the seaside shack on the Destiny Islands' play island swung open and Lea stepped out proudly to strike a pose. When Roxas didn't immediately follow him, he turned around, pulled him out onto the beach, and then struck the pose a second time. "Well?"

Out on the sand, having just finished scouting the beach for the Keyhole, Naminé and Xion turned to the two of them. Lea was just dying to know what they thought of his bright red trunks with badass yellow flame decals, it was going to absolutely blow their minds.

"Um…" Naminé muttered. She was wearing a white one piece with some black thrown in.

"It's very…_you_," Xion said. She had on a white, blue, and black bikini, the top piece a halter top, and her charm bracelet was still on her wrist.

Beside Lea, Roxas sighed in his own grey trunks with an orange floral print, and matching unbuttoned jacket. His necklace still hung around his neck too. "Trust me, it's better than the speedo."

Looks of absolute horror crossed both girls' faces. "_Speedo_?"

Lea's pose faltered and he spun around as he recovered his footing. "I wasn't actually going to buy it, Roxas! It was a joke!"

"The real joke is on me for having to see you try it on back at the store– Hey!" Roxas struggled as Lea wrapped his arms around the kid's neck and began to give him a noogie. He only stopped when Xion and Naminé moved to separate the two, after which Lea grabbed both girls by the arms and flung them into the water.

Xion was the first to break from the surface. She glared at Lea from behind black hair hanging over her eyes. "What was that for?!"

"It's my God-given right as the tallest person here to toss all pipsqueaks around. Now outta the way!"

Xion and Naminé shrieked and laughed as Lea came running at them and jumped, barely making it clear before he came down in a cannonball. Roxas dove in a moment later, and he and Xion only had to exchange a glance before the two of them piled on Lea and forced him under the water. Naminé panicked and hurried over to pull them off of him, only for Xion to turn around and splash water in her face. As Naminé sputtered and started splashing back at Xion, Lea finally broke the surface and flicked Roxas in the side of the head.

And underneath that familiar, comforting light of sunset they spent the last bit of the day just playing together. There was no Flood of Light, no Keyblades, no missing friends or traumatic nightmares, just four friends enjoying their beach day together. An hour or so after evening gave way to night, Xion and Naminé were hunting seashells underwater while Roxas and Lea were on the shore building sculptures out of sand when it happened. A sudden burst of light coming from inland all but blinded the four, and caused Xion drop the thalassa shell she was holding and Lea to stumble into his sand castle.

"What is that?!" Naminé asked, worry creeping into her voice.

Her answer was inaudible and involuntary. Lea's Keyblade flashed into his hand, and when he registered that it had done so without him calling on it he quickly looked to Roxas beside him and then Xion as she climbed ashore. Sure enough, they held their Keyblades as well. _Déjà vu, I've seen this before._

Just like what had happened at the Chamber of Repose the presence of Keyblades caused the blinding light to die down to more reasonable levels, though not disappear outright. And as it dimmed, they could finally pinpoint where it was coming from: a small cavern next to the nearby waterfall, one that Lea hadn't noticed before with it practically hidden behind vegetation.

"The secret place…" Roxas muttered.

"You know it?"

"Sora does." Saying nothing else to Lea, Roxas silently turned to Xion and she gave him a nod. He took a breath and swung Oathkeeper and Oblivion experimentally. "It looks like we found the Keyhole."

Naminé approached the group while wringing water out of her hair. "So that's the Flood of Light? But I don't feel frozen the way Ienzo described."

"I never thought I'd say these words, but you Nobodies are lucky," Lea muttered. He dismissed his Keyblade and sighed. "There's nothing I can do against the Flood of Light. Roxas, Xion, take care of it real quick."

"We'll be a minute tops," Roxas replied. He began walking toward the secret place and gestured for not only Xion to follow, but Naminé as well. "Come on, let's show you how Xion and I work."

"Um…" Naminé glanced at Lea, who waved her forward. "Okay!" It was an almost comedic sight, the tonal discrepancy of three teenagers in their swimsuits charging forward while holding swords, but Lea wasn't exactly in a laughing mood.

The secret place was cold and damp but not at all dark, not with the light pouring forth from the far wall. No, not the far wall – from a door against the far wall. Roxas frowned as they approached it. How had he not remembered this door? It had appeared out of nowhere just days before Sora's first journey. Damn his fuzzy, broken memories; if he or Xion could actually make heads or tails of what they could remember of Sora's life they could have stopped by the Keyhole yesterday. Not that it mattered now though, they were still here in time to stop the Flood of Light and that was what was important.

Xion held up Sign of Innocence as they approached the door and the light retreated in response, though once again never outright vanishing. When they were close enough to make out the shape of the Keyhole itself, something made Roxas pause. Beneath the blue-white glow that he was starting to get used to seeing pour out of the Keyhole, there was something else: a shimmer of green. He squinted through the light and peered inside the Keyhole, trying to make out… What was that…?

An image flashed through his mind, a drawing he had seen in Naminé's room the day before, and then it all clicked. There was a green gemstone embedded inside Destiny Islands' Keyhole. The world's heart, just like Naminé had said.

He looked to Naminé, who was standing apprehensively a few feet behind him and Xion. "I thought the heart was across the ocean? From that old legend?"

Naminé shrugged and shook her head. "That's just a story. Or at least, it is as far as I know. But if there is any truth to it, the story did say that Te Fiti was a living island. Maybe she moved closer to Motunui to watch over the heroine who saved her?"

"Te Fiti…" Xion mouthed the words as if testing them. The name brought up memories of Sora's favorite childhood books to both her and Roxas. "Are you saying the play island is actually the goddess from the legend?"

"Like I said, I thought it was just a story."

"Let's think about it later. Right now we'll take care of the Flood." Roxas held both of his Keyblades together and pointed them forward. Beside him Xion raised up her Keyblade as well. "Naminé, we'll be right bac– Look out!"

In the span of a single breath, the green stone within the Keyhole flashed a dangerous orange and glowed bright enough to overwhelm the dimmed Flood of Light. Roxas shoved Xion aside then spun around and tackled Naminé to the ground just in time for all of them to avoid a pillar of flame that erupted out of the Keyhole, accompanied by a horrified, pain-filled scream that shook all three of them to their cores.

Pinned underneath Roxas, Naminé was wide-eyed and shaking as the unbelievable heat died down. "W-What was that?!"

Xion gasped and jumped up to her feet. "Outside!" That was the only explanation she give as she ran back out onto the beach, leaving Roxas and Naminé to scramble to their feet as they realized a dangerous orange glow was illuminating the tunnel they had come down. Was the island on fire?! But no, the situation was perhaps worse than that.

Out on the beach they saw Lea with Keyblade in hand, facing what at first appeared to be a volcano that had suddenly erupted out from the crust beneath the waves. But the truth was something else; as they came closer they could make out features in the magma that rose above the water. The flames that had shot out of the Keyhole, they had turned into something more. Something _alive_.

Xion was the first to join Lea at the base of the lava monster. "Axel, what's going on?!"

"I have no idea, and this is coming from the guy who specializes in fire!"

"It's Te Kā!" Naminé cried as the monster let out another roar. It sounded so sorrowful, so full of pain. "From the legend! The world itself is reacting to its heart falling into slumber, just like how it lashed out when it lost its heart in the story!"

"The Flood of Light is causing this?" Roxas asked.

"It's the world trying to fight back. At least, that's what I think!"

Te Kā, the angered form that Te Fiti took in that old story. It – _she_ – turned her attention on the four of them as if Naminé voicing her name had been the trigger. She roared once more and brought a molten fist down on the island, which Roxas hurried and blocked with both Keyblades. Not without trouble though, as he struggled against the weight and heat of the lava giant pressing down on him. A sudden rush of cold flew past his head as Xion cast Blizzard at Te Kā's hand and she recoiled, freeing Roxas from his struggle against her hand.

As Te Kā sent a blast of fire Lea's way, he launch a fireball of his own from Flame Liberator that countered it, causing both to go up in smoke. "If we both want to stop it then why's she fighting us?!"

Naminé ran out of the way of another swing of Te Kā's fists. "When Te Fiti is Te Kā she's not thinking correctly– Roxas, behind you!"

Naminé's warning gave just enough time for Roxas to pivot around on one foot and slash right through a boulder that would have otherwise flattened him. Once it was cleaved in half the rock crumbled away into embers. Roxas readjusted his grip on both his Keyblades and grit his teeth. "Then if we can't reason with her we don't have a choice. We'll have to beat her back!"

Xion ran up beside Roxas and jumped in the air while thrusting her Keyblade out. "Stream!" Water swirled around her body and rippled on the surface of the ocean beneath her. With a cast of Waterga, two streams flew out from both Xion's Keyblade and the ocean and crashed into Te Kā's side. Where the water made contact Te Kā's magma body hardened and became stone, though she quickly took notice of that and pressed her burning hands on the cooled spots to melt them again. But seeing it gave Lea an idea.

"Xion, do that again!" Lea ordered as he hopped onto the roof of the seaside shack and then from there onto the bridge connecting the beach to the paopu island.

"Okay!" Xion did as he asked and cast Waterga once more, once again cooling a chunk of Te Kā's body into stone. Lea took a running leap off of the bridge while his Keyblade glowed bright orange. In midair it split apart and changed shape, transforming into the familiar sight of his two chakrams. With the weapons alight with flame, Lea tossed them both at one of the stone chunks of Te Kā's body.

Te Kā roared in pain as the stone shattered and evaporated into embers, just like the stone that Roxas had cut in half earlier. Rather than it having turned back into magma that part of her molten body was now outright gone, and while the rest of the magma that formed her shifted to fill in the empty space the conservation of mass meant she grew slightly smaller in doing so.

A lightbulb went off in Roxas's head. "Oh, I get it!" He tossed his Keyblade at Te Kā and it dug into the other section that Xion had cooled down, then broke into particles of light and teleported up to his Keyblade. Roxas pried it out of the stone, and now that he was within range swung at Te Kā's solidified body with all his might. As the stone shattered he pushed off with his feet and landed back on the beach just as Te Kā swiped an arm at him.

Xion conjured another burst of water that struck Te Kā in the wrist and the stone spread like a sickness, taking up her entire right arm. Lea, with his chakrams having turned back into his Keyblade swung from his position on the ground and sent a blade of fire cutting through the air. It sliced right through the stone arm, which fell from Te Kā's body as she roared in pain. Just before it evaporated the stone arm landed in the water and caused a mighty splash that struck at Te Kā's lower body, solidifying everything below the spiral pattern on her chest.

Lea split his Keyblade into his chakrams once again. "Roxas! Xion!"

The two of them were already running. "Axel, now!"

Lea leaped into the air and hurled both chakrams at Te Kā's lower body. He moved his hands through the air and the chakrams obeyed, moving in mimic of the directions he remotely gave them to slash again and again at Te Kā. As he did so Roxas and Xion made a running leap from the shore of the island and attacked Te Kā together, hitting her in a single cross-patterned strike. In a burst of flame Lea's chakrams returned to his hands and he dropped down on Te Kā, bringing them together on her stone abdomen and causing a pillar of fire to erupt out of the earth. Before she could recover and counter attack, Roxas, Xion, and Lea all leaped backwards onto the beach and out of harm's way.

Te Kā roared in fury and pain as the magma composing her shifted and moved, filling out her lost body parts in exchange for making her much smaller. She was now perhaps half of her original size, though granted considering how tall she had started she still towered over everyone fighting her. But moreover, her fury was manifesting in a different way now. Roxas threw his hands up in front of his face as she glowed brightly like the sun. The heat she gave off had become unbearable, inapproachable. How were they supposed to attack her if they couldn't even get near?

As if reading his mind, suddenly silver-white light burst out of the darkness surrounding Te Kā. Out of nowhere translucent chains that seemed to be made of glass or crystal manifested and wrapped around Te Kā's arms, waist, and throat, binding her completely in place. Not without trouble though, as she struggled against her bonds. But though the chains strained, they held.

"What?" Roxas stared at the chains in confusion, having never seen anything like them. Where had they even come from? His question was answered when he heard a _thump_ behind him, and he turned around to see Naminé on one knee, her body shaking and sweat matting her brow. Her hands were outstretched toward the chains, her fingers straining as if she was desperately trying to hold onto something.

"Naminé, did you do that?!" Xion called over her shoulder.

"Terra…taught me…" Naminé said through shaking breaths. She grunted and struggled against an invisible weight as she climbed back up into a standing position. Legs spread apart she planted her feet firmly in the sand and took a deep breath, and as Te Kā struggled against the chains she called to the others. "Now hurry, use your Keyblades!"

Roxas glanced at Xion, and she at him. No words were exchanged between them. If this monster represented the heart of the Destiny Islands lashing out, then there was only one way for them to calm it down. As Te Kā thrashed and strained against Naminé's bindings, Roxas handed Oathkeeper over to Xion.

"Ready?"

Xion's placed her hand over Roxas's. "I'm with you."

Holding Oathkeeper together, both Roxas and Xion raised the Keyblade up toward Te Kā and took careful aim at the spiral pattern on her chest. A wind kicked up around them as light gathered at the Keyblade's tip. Behind them the last of Naminé's strength gave out and she collapsed, to be caught by Lea just before she hit the ground. The chains that had bound Te Kā shattered and she roared and charged forward, using her hands to drag herself across the shore toward them. Her heat, her rage, growing closer, brighter, more intense...

Now!

When Te Kā raised her hand up to bring down and flatten the four of them, light shot forward from Oathkeeper. It pierced Te Kā in the exact center of the spiral on her chest and the light spread outward from there, the orange glow that covered her body quickly shifting to white. The light then overflowed and consumed the darker parts of Te Kā as well, illuminating all the magma that comprised her in a bright white. Then the white faded and shifted to an earthy green hue, as Te Kā's monstrous expression of rage and fury shifted to a calm, motherly one. They had just enough time to register Te Fiti's thankful smile before she faded away like dust in the wind.

Several long moments passed in the dead silence of night before Xion spoke. "Is it over…? Oh no, Naminé!" She turned around to see Naminé held in Lea's arms, awake but very obviously worn out. Naminé gave Xion and Roxas a weak smile.

"That was incredible, Naminé!" Roxas exclaimed. "Especially for your first fight."

"Thanks," Naminé replied, her voice still a little shaky. "But we're not done for the night yet. Hurry back to the secret place."

"Right. The Keyhole." Xion picked up her Keyblade from the sand and motioned for Roxas to follow. Now that they had calmed the Destiny Islands' fury, all they had to do was dive into the islands' heart and stop the Flood of Light.

**x-x-x**

Sometime later, under the starlit sky, Roxas and Xion lay next to each other on the cool sand. Naminé and Lea had run to Aoi's house just over on the main island's beach to pick up some marshmallows and campfire supplies, leaving the two of them to hold down the fort, as it were. After Roxas dug out a pit and lined it with stones, he had joined Xion there on the sand. The water gently lapped at their toes while their eyes were transfixed on the stars above.

"What a small world," Xion said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Not that it makes it any less wonderful," Roxas replied in the same tone.

Xion shifted beside him, and Roxas turned to see her looking his way. The shimmering starlight caught in her eyes and reflected back at him, as if her eyes were the night sky itself. "Roxas… How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly calm," he admitted. Roxas closed his eyes and spent a few moments just taking in the chill of the sea breeze and the sound of the surf. That sound was everything to them, had been ever since they shared seashells with each other in the Organization. He kept his eyes shut as he continued. "Like I said this morning I doubt I'll ever be 'over it', but I'll continue mending."

"I don't think you _do_ need to be 'over it'. Hold onto that hurt, but as long as you don't let it consume you and drag you into darkness, it will have a place in your heart as a reminder of someone important." Roxas opened his eyes to see Xion smiling at him. It was a smile sad and gentle, yet at the same time as warm as a campfire on this chilly night. "Like you did when you lost me."

"Yeah. And if I do fall you'll be there to guide me back, Xion, just like you did at the Keyblade Graveyard."

Warmth brushed Roxas's hands as Xion brought her fingers to twine together with his. She shuffled on the sand and rested her head in the crook between his shoulder and neck. "And you with me."

"Xion?"

"My situation isn't quite the same as yours, there are some things that you can't just keep with you. But we are alike in that regard, Roxas. If I'm your light to guide you home, then you're mine." She nestled closer to him and have his hand a squeeze. "I'm strong with you, Roxas. When I'm with you, my nightmares are so much easier to deal with. I know…we don't exactly have a paopu fruit, but I want to make that promise even so. Let me keep you safe, Roxas."

Roxas's heart was pounding that he was sure Xion could hear it, close as she was. His face felt like it was on fire, but nonetheless he shifted his body more toward her, resting his head on hers and moving his left hand over hers that was holding his right. "And I'll keep you safe, too, Xion."

Xion closed her eyes with that warm, gentle smile still on her face. Her breathing slowed to match pace with the tides gently moving in and out, and it seemed she was beginning to doze off there on the beach, just her and Roxas.

Until they heard the slow clapping.

Xion and Roxas both shot up into sitting positions to see Lea standing on the dock clapping with a sadistically smug grin, while behind him Naminé was holding a pack of marshmallows in front of her face to try and hide her near-luminescent blush. After taking a moment to register what they were seeing, Roxas and Xion then looked down between them and quickly pulled their hands apart.

Lea cackled and picked up a pile of firewood at his feet before he hopped down onto the sand and began to approach them. "And what did the two of you get up to, huh? We were gone for like twenty minutes!"

Roxas climbed up to his feet while Xion buried her face in her hands. "H-How much did you hear?" Roxas asked as he wiped sand off the back of his jacket.

"Everything but the kissing, it seems!"

Xion practically screeched, "_There wasn't any_–"

"_Relax_, Xion. I'm just teasing you." Lea dumped the firewood in the pit that Roxas had dug and then lit it in an instant with a snap of his fingers. Naminé awkwardly shuffled across the sand and, after a moment's hesitation, sat down beside Xion. "We arrived somewhere around 'You're my light in the darkness.'"

Roxas plopped down on the sand, pointedly choosing to sit beside Naminé instead of Xion to hide himself further teasing. "And you didn't say anything?!"

Lea took the bag of marshmallows from Naminé, opened it, and stuck one on a skewer before responding. When he did finally speak, all humor was gone from his voice; he was completely serious. "I wanted to make sure you two could handle yourselves. You had that memorized, didn't you? It's the reason I tagged along."

Roxas recoiled and then stared down at his lap. "R…Right…"

Xion took in a breath. "Then…"

Humor returned to Lea as swiftly as it had gone, as he smiled so brightly it made his eyes squint. "Congratulations! The two of you pass!" But then he was somber once again. "Which I suppose means I'm headed back to Twilight Town. This was a fun break from work while it lasted."

"Axel…" both Roxas and Xion started.

Lea held his hand up, cutting them off. "That was our deal. Besides, it's like Roxas said back when I said I was coming: I can't actually help with the Flood of Light anyway. I'm not a Nobody anymore." He stared into the fire and his shoulders slumped. "But…listen, take care of each other, okay? You made that promise, so honor it. Keep each other strong like I know you can."

Roxas looked to Xion across the fire, and she looked to him. Was she blushing, or was it the glow of the fire? Was he blushing, or was it the heat from the flames? Roxas suddenly found himself chuckling, even though nothing funny had happened. He turned back to Lea and nodded with a grin. "You got it, Axel." And then, after a moment he added, "And by the way, your marshmallow is burning."

"Gah!" Lea quickly pulled the skewer out of the fire and blew on his black marshmallow, now more resembling a piece of coal than a sweet, melty treat. Laughter at the poor man's expense rose up around the campfire, and the good mood continued well into the night.

And eventually, the last marshmallow had been eaten and the campfire had faded away to a handful of glowing embers that just barely kept the beach illuminated. The four friends sat there under the stars, their consciousness slipping away after a long day, when Naminé spoke up.

"So I suppose you'll be leaving then? Tomorrow?"

"I think so, yeah," Xion said. She was resting her cheek on her knees, her eyelids drooping slightly. Her purple jacket was draped over her back like a blanket; a bikini was well and good in the day, but late at night by the water was too chilly for that.

"But we'll come back the first chance we get, don't you worry," Roxas added.

Naminé shook her head with a smile. "I'm not worried at all, I know you will. And no matter how far off that is it's okay, because today has been a great memory for us to share."

Something about that seemed to awaken something in Xion. With a soft gasp she jumped to her feet and ran over to the seaside shack, startling Lea who had started to doze off.

"Xion, are you okay?" Naminé asked.

Xion was digging through her belongings that were resting in a plastic bag on the ground beside the shack. "I'm fine, I'm just looking for… Got it!" She pulled something out of the bag and hurried back over to the others. "Memories for us to share – that's what reminded me of this." And she held up her Gummiphone.

"Not sure I'm following," Lea said.

Roxas laughed. "It's kind of a habit she's picked up since we started this journey. She's been taking pictures of each world before we leave."

"Yup! And so…" Xion looped her arm around Roxas's, then grabbed Naminé's wrist with her other hand, and pulled both of them toward Lea. She held up the phone to take a selfie, and before anyone could properly react, pressed the button with only a half-second warning of, "Say cheese!"

* * *

_I kind of ended up paraphrasing Re:coded there at the end without initially planning to. I also planned on splitting this into two chapters after seeing how long it was, but then decided that a long chapter would be a good way to apologize for how long the wait for this update was._

_This chapter was __**not **__supposed to take this long to update, but I hit a brick wall with my writing motivation for over a month, I'd just stare at the page not knowing how to even begin. I apologize for the wait but unfortunately can't promise that it won't happen again; it did several times back when I was writing Remember the Tides. I'm sorry again, and thanks for your patience both past and future._


	20. The World's Most Famous Crook

**Chapter 20: The World's Most Famous Crook**

It was the middle of the night in Radiant Garden, and while the citizens were asleep, those in the Bastion were pulling another all-nighter. In Ansem's study and the adjacent computer room, Ienzo, Tron, and Terra dug through files both physical and digital in their search for more information about the data that the Nobodies stole. What was it exactly? Xehanort and the apprentices had done so much research on so many topics related to the heart that it was impossible to say. But they were making progress, and every day their search was narrowed down more and more…even if it was slow going.

With permission from Ansem the Wise, Terra had all but turned the study upside down while he pored over books and notes. This wasn't exactly his area of expertise, but just because he liked to work out didn't mean he was some musclehead jock. His training with Master Eraqus had been just as much about magic and history as it had been about swinging a Keyblade around. He knew how to handle a report.

"But are you sure you don't want us to come and help?"

"I'm sure, Aqua. This is the least I can do for Ienzo and the others."

Terra's Gummiphone was on, resting on Ansem's desk with Aqua on the other end. They'd been talking for the better part of an hour now as Terra worked his way through the latest stack of reports. Not the easiest read in the world, but he had enough of Xehanort's memories from his apprenticeship to Ansem the Wise lingering to help get through them. Granted those memories were jumbled and blurry and distant, but they did the trick.

"Well even if you don't want help, we can at least be there with you. I think Ven and Chirithy are getting stir-crazy."

Terra couldn't hide a knowing smile; he had a feeling _she _was the one going stir-crazy, not them. He looked up from the paper to meet Aqua's face on the small screen of his phone. She was in her bedroom, which still looked just as it did eleven years ago with the notable exception that she kept her lights on even in the dead of night now. Her worry for Terra was plain as day on her face, and it tugged at his heart in the way that only she and Ven could.

But Terra shook his head. "I appreciate it, Aqua. Really. And believe me there's nothing more I want for the three of us to stick together like glue."

Aqua sighed. "I hear the 'but'…"

"But," Terra agreed, "the Land of Departure still has a lot of work before it's back to being just the way it used to be. So someone needs to be there to do that work."

"I suppose you're right." Terra's screen momentarily blurred as Aqua fell back on her bed. She turned onto her side and peered into her Gummiphone while resting on her pillow. "Well, we've been talking about home this whole time. But how are things for you in Radiant Garden, Terra?"

Terra scratched at his cheek as he spoke. "Well I guess the room they've given me is nice. It's in the same wing as the apprentices, so it's pretty big; bigger than back home. Though I'd definitely rather be in my room. It's still a nice place though." Aqua didn't say anything except give him a small smile, so Terra laughed awkwardly before continuing. "Let's see, um… The food's all right, but a royal chef's cooking doesn't have that same 'home' feel. The stars aren't as pretty to look at at night, but watching the city lights from the castle walls is a good substitute. Aeleus showed me that one."

Aqua giggled, and Terra decided he'd probably said enough. "You know, it sounds like you're missing home just as much as we're missing you."

Terra rubbed the back of his neck while swapping out the report he just finished going through out for the next one. "I guess so. But I'm doing really important work here, Aqua."

"Yeah, I know." Then there was a pause. It wasn't long, but it was longer than normal. When Aqua spoke again, her voice was more concerned than longing. "Terra, you've talked about how Radiant Garden is, but…how are _you?_"

Terra's hand froze in the middle of turning the report's page. Was he that easy to read? No, Aqua was just that insightful. "I'm…" He closed his eyes and let out a breath before speaking. "It's…_awkward_ being here. I don't really know how else to put it. Master An– I mean, Ansem the Wise and the apprentices are being welcoming, but I can tell it's weird for them too."

"Weird how?" Even with his eyes locked on the pages of the report, Terra could feel Aqua's gaze on him through the screen. He could perfectly picture her look of concern, the pursing of her lips and slight furrow of her brow.

"I feel a…disassociation with this castle. I've never been here, I've never walked these halls and met these people, but my body has. It's really unsettling to not know my way around, and yet have the muscle memory that says I do." Privately, he wondered if Ven had felt something similar when on the Destiny Islands during the party. After all, he spent so long inside Sora. But that wasn't quite the same situation – Ven hadn't been a prisoner in _his own_ body. "Plus there are still fragments of Xehanort's experiences here floating in the back of my head, which is…"

Terra trailed off, his attention caught by the next page of the report. Somewhere distant he could hear Aqua calling for him, trying to get his attention, but his eyes were locked on the paper held tightly in his hands.

"Terra! Please, are you okay?" Aqua called.

Terra all but jumped onto his feet. He held the report under his arm and picked up the Gummiphone, barely spending the time to cast Aqua an apologetic glance. "Aqua, I'll call you back."

"Ter– "

Terra pocketed his Gummiphone before the screen had even turned black and jogged down the hall to the computer room, where he was met with the now-familiar sight of Ienzo conversing with Tron on the main console's screen. The sound of his rapid footsteps on the metal floor caught their attention, and both turned to face him as he entered the room.

To his credit, Ienzo saw the paper under Terra's arm and caught on right away. "Did you find something?"

With a firm nod, Terra dropped the report onto the keyboard. "This is an analysis of the Keyblade that Braig wrote. Check the third page."

While Tron and Terra watched with baited breath, Ienzo took the report and skimmed through Braig's writings until he found exactly what it was that Terra had seen. Quickly he turned back to the computer. "He mentions a file S in folder D3. Tron, open that up."

"I'm on it, Ienzo. Just one second and…"

Tron was cut off by a loud blaring that came out of all the speakers in the room, prompting Terra to hold his hands over his ears while Ienzo jumped to the keyboard. At that same time a red error window popped up on the screen to block Tron's face while a synthesized voice loudly declared, "The data is corrupt."

Ienzo was already typing away. "Tron, what was in that file?"

"I'm not sure any more than you are, Ienzo!" Tron stood on his tiptoes to try and see over the red window before opting to just shove it aside. "But um, you may want to look at this." He gestured behind him, where one of the Dataspace's green walls now had a fissure running through it which black and red blocks had started to form around. "This happened at the same time the alert sounded in your world. I have no idea what I'm looking at…besides that it's clearly bugged, anyway!"

Terra moved closer to Ienzo so he could get a better look at the buggy Dataspace. "Did Braig plant some sort of trap in the DTD all those years ago? Or maybe the Nobodies planted it after they made a copy? What would you call it, a virus?"

Tron shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I don't think the file itself is the source of this, I think it was a victim. It's been corrupted by this fragmented data."

Ienzo pressed his fist against his chin and spoke under his breath. "Then the bugs are coming from somewhere else…?" He shook his head and started typing again. "Tron, let's put up a firewall for now. We need to contain this fragmentation before it spreads. And then we need to find the source of the bugs."

"I'm already on it. Oh, but even though the file was corrupted, I was able to glean something from it."

"You were?" Terra and Ienzo asked at the same time.

"Just pieces. The file that the Nobodies stole a copy of had something to do with the power of waking."

**x-x-x**

After spending one last night at Aoi's and saying goodbye to Lea and Naminé, Roxas and Xion continued on their journey to find the next world facing the Flood of Light. The world they had arrived in next was an unfamiliar town, a busy place with dirt roads, and above that multiple levels of streets made out of wood. The buildings were built extremely close together and all made of mismatched materials. The makeshift town was built at the base of cliffs along the edge of a cove in which several ships were docked, the most prominent of which was a large red one. And to top it all off this place was very crowded, and _very_ loud.

From a narrow alleyway, Roxas and Xion observed the crowds of dirty, smelly sailors go about their business. Some slumped drunk in the streets, some argued and fought each other. It was a lawless place, and it was crystal clear that they had arrived in a pirate town. As if it wasn't already obvious enough, their clothes had been the final nail in that coffin. Due to whatever magic the good fairies had woven into the outfits they gave Roxas and Xion, their clothing had changed upon arrival in this new world. Now dressed as pirates themselves, the two teens observed the town further as they took in their surroundings. Both had huge grins plastered on their faces as they peeked out from around the corner of the alley. Pirates, how cool was that?!

The color schemes of their clothes had stayed the same after the transformation, even if nothing else had. Roxas wore a dark gray long coat zipped up to just below his chest, exposing just the top of the red high-collar button-up shirt underneath. A red sash was tied at his waist, and a lighter gray strap crossed diagonally over his torso from his right shoulder to left hip. A small golden Nobody emblem earring hung from his left ear, and of course he had to have his black and white rings.

Beside him and peering over his shoulder into the streets, Xion wore a sleeveless black top with white accents, stylized to look like a corset without the uncomfortably body-squeezing of a real one. Over her matching black shorts was an asymmetrical purple skirt, with the left side noticeably longer than the right. Her silver X necklace and charm bracelet were still there but looked a tad worn. Better that her jewelry didn't grab any attention in a place crawling with pirates, she supposed.

With her hands resting on Roxas's shoulders Xion leaned further forward, pressing against his back to try to see past him and around the corner. "What are we waiting for? It's not like we stand out."

Roxas grunted as Xion's pushing nearly sent him toppling face-first into the dirt. "I'm just trying to get my bearings. Remember Vexen's lessons: learn everything you can about a new world when you first arrive."

"Since when have you ever cared about that?"

"Since we landed in a town as rough-looking as this one. I'm not sure what world this is, so– _hey!_"

With a short giggle Xion shoved Roxas forward and out of the alley. He gave her a look while he adjusted his coat and she gave him an apologetic smile, but just as she had suspected, they didn't catch any attention. Well, except for a trio of drunks who hooted and congratulated Roxas for some reason when the two of them stepped out of the alley, but otherwise nobody paid them any mind. They were just another pair of pirates in this pirate town.

"Come on, we can't get a good look around just from that alley." Xion broke into a wide grin and took Roxas by the hand. "Besides! _Pirates!_ How cool is that?!"

Roxas chuckled. "Okay, it is pretty dang cool. You got me, first mate."

Xion scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me? That's captain to you!"

Roxas flicked Xion in the forehead. "How can you be captain when the salty Captain Roxas is already here?"

"Salty because he fell into the sea, maybe!"

"The captain must go down with his ship!"

"More like his dinghy, 'Captain'!"

The pair continued to bicker as they made their way down the muddy street. By the time they had quieted down Roxas and Xion arrived in what must have been the town square, or at least the closest thing this place had. The ground was still dirt instead of pavement, but it was a wide open space right on the water, with a dock leading out to that large red ship they'd seen earlier. Roxas's gaze lingered on the ship as they passed by it, but the vessel was quickly blocked from their sight by an old gallows. Yikes! Thankfully it was, er, vacant, but both of them quickened their pace once they saw that.

On the far end of the square was probably the largest building in town, which a rundown sign labeled 'The Mermaid's Tears'. The drunks lying around outside and loud cheers coming from inside clearly identified it as a tavern. Roxas looked back at Xion with a grin. "What better place to learn about where we are?"

"Good idea, first mate!" Xion motioned forward. "Now be a gentleman and hold the door for me."

Roxas rolled his eyes but still moved up to the entrance, stepping over a sleeping drunk as he did so. "Arr, a captain does what be best for his crew."

Both of them laughed as they made their way inside, but their laughter was quickly drowned out. Wow, it was a lot louder in here than it had sounded from outside! Maybe getting into a conversation with the locals would be harder than they thought, because darn near everyone there was singing a shanty together.

"_Ooohhhhhhhh!"_

"_A pirate's life is a wonderful life  
__A-rovin' over the sea  
__Give me a career  
__As a buccaneer  
__It's the life of a pirate for me  
__Ohhhhhh, the life of a pirate for me"_

"_Ohhhhhh, a pirate's life is a wonderful life  
__They never bury your bones  
__For when it's all over  
__A jolly sea rover  
__Drops in on his friend, Davy Jones  
__Ohhhhhh, my good friend Davy Jones"_

A little overwhelmed by the noise, Roxas and Xion made their way to the nearest empty table they could find. Along the way Roxas had to duck to narrowly avoid being stabbed by a knife that flew right past him and stuck into a part of the wall decorated with a crudely drawn captain. It would seem they didn't like their boss much, and at the sight Xion nervously rubbed her neck. As exciting as it may have been to be around pirates, that was a reminder they _were_ dealing with criminals here.

As Xion and Roxas sat down they heard a loud clatter behind them followed by a slurred, "Argh, blast it! Oi, lass! Yeah you, wit' the legs!"

Were they talking to…? Xion's face lit bright red. "S-Sorry, er, thank you, but I'm not–" but a spark of light at her side quickly replaced Xion's fluster with worry. She hurried and grabbed Roxas by the wrist, holding his hand down before his Keyblade manifested. "Don't cause a scene, he's just a drunk," she whispered.

"A loud drunk," Roxas grumbled and crossed his arms in a huff.

The pirate behind them let out a guffaw. "Relax kid, I'm not after yer girl! I jus' need her help. I dropped me pistol."

As one Roxas and Xion glanced down to see, yeah, an old-timey pistol was sitting on the rotting floorboards right by Xion's feet. O-oh, that was all. Xion leaned down to pick it up, and when her fingers made contact she felt a spark of magic; not from it, from her. You know, as long as they were blending in here, a pirate's weapon wouldn't be a bad idea. Xion took a breath and closed her eyes while letting the magic do its thing, copying the pistol's structure. Replicating it. Who knows when that would come in handy?

"Lass, ye got a decent arse, but ya be too young for me. Could ya stop bendin' over and hand me me gun?"

Xion's face turned bright red again and she shot straight up to her feet with a death grip on the pistol. She hurried over to the pirate, dropped the pistol on the table, and returned to the fuming Roxas all without making eye contact. As soon as she dropped back down into her seat the man thanked her…and then both teens jumped as they heard a gunshot and the shattering of glass, before one man broke into a run out the doors of the tavern with the remnants of a shattered mug of ale in his hand. Roxas and Xion stared at each other wide-eyed and slack-jawed, but perhaps more alarmingly than the gunshot itself was the fact that nobody else in the tavern never missed a beat of their song.

"I-I guess it really is a pirate's life," Roxas commented in a shaking voice.

A short time later the waitress came by to take their order, and soon after that Roxas and Xion had a platter of meat from some exotic tropical bird that neither of them had ever heard of, completely slathered in sauces and spices. Xion had to admit, despite the dirty – both literally and figuratively – surroundings that they found themselves in, the food was surprisingly tasty.

The songs had quieted down by now, and so as the two of them ate they paid careful attention to any and all conversations that they could catch to try and learn more about this world, especially anything out of the ordinary that could lead them to the location of the Keyhole. One conversation in particular caught their interest from a pair of pirates at the bar.

"Have ye heard 'em then? The stories?"

"'at depends on _what_ stories, ya drunkard!"

"_The_ stories, ya bilge rat! The ones goin' 'round the whole port! Y'know, about that otherworldly crew what's been sailin' the waters of late."

"Oh… Yeah, yeah! Those stories! I be knowin' em, sure do!"

"Aye, those ones! They say the ship rides on storm clouds, and is crewed by spirits of the dead."

"I heard that their captain be a woman! A woman who commands the storm, what calls herself the Pirate Queen."

Xion raised an eyebrow at the conversation and cast Roxas a glance, but more of his attention was spent glowering at the pirate who'd commented on Xion earlier. With a groan Xion snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"What?"

"Were you listening to those two at the bar?"

"Uh, yeah. Something about a Pirate Queen and storms." Roxas shrugged. "It sounds cool but it also just sounds like typical pirate ghost stories. I doubt it'd lead us to the Keyhole."

Xion softly bit her lip. "I dunno… It sounds abnormal and recent, from the way they're describing it. Maybe that spirit crew is made up of Heartless?"

Roxas shrugged again. "I mean, maybe, but I think it's just a ghost ship like the kind you read about in books." Then he grinned. "Which honestly sounds like something I really want to check out!"

Xion couldn't hide her laughter. "Okay, I was kind of thinking the same thing."

There were more conversations to be overheard in the tavern too, of course. Now that the singing had died down some, the two Keyblade wielders could catch snippets of talk from other tables further away than the bar had been.

From a table near the front door:

"That brat hasn't shown up lately. There been any news?"

"I don't think he's found this new hideout. Ha, or more likely, he's just toyin' with the Cap'n again!"

"The Captain's gonna get us killed chasing after that kid. You know it and I know it."

From a trio playing poker in the shadow under the staircase:

"How many drinks have you had tonight?"

"No, I swear on me mum! 'twas a real an' honest tiny crew! Lilliputian pirates, they was!"

"Are you sick in the head, mate?"

Xion heard jingling coming from across her table and turned her attention away from eavesdropping and back to Roxas, who had pulled out his wallet and dropped some munny on the table next to their emptied plate. Xion rested her hand in her palm and smiled at him. "Not exactly the fantastic 'you all meet in a tavern' adventure you were hoping for?"

"Yeah, though drunk ramblings from pirates is probably also a part of the authentic experience."

"I'm not sure how much of them are ramblings. There are some pretty fantastic worlds out there, after all."

"Maybe. Either way they don't sound like leads on the Keyhole though."

Xion grinned. "So duty-bound! Orrrr…could it be you're trying really hard not to go sailing off on an adventure?" Roxas leaned over the table and flicked her on the forehead again. Her grin only widened. "I'm dead on, aren't I? Come on, Roxas! You had fun being a pirate on the way over to this tavern, let's have fun being pirates as long as we're here."

Roxas groaned. "Alright, alright, you got me… Now any more of that lip and you're walking the plank, first mate!"

"I told you, I'm the captain around here!" Xion stood up and Roxas followed suit, the two of them heading over to the front door – only to nearly be hit in the face as the door swung wide open in an instant.

"All hands on deck! All hands on deck!" A short man with a funny voice called loudly into the tavern. When nobody noticed him, he pulled out a trumpet and blew loudly into it. Xion and Roxas, being right next to him, had to cover their ears at the terrible racket. It did the trick though, the entire place went silent. The little man cleared his throat. "All hands on deck! The Cap'n wants to talk in the square!"

The pirates grumbled and soon the tavern was filled with the sound of shifting chairs and clattering silverware as people started shuffling outside. Xion watched the crowds with mild curiosity, but Roxas was standing on his tiptoes to see over all the pirates' heads.

"Something wrong?" Xion asked.

"That guy who came in here looked familiar…" Roxas muttered.

Well, that was a surprise! "Do you mean you've been to this world?"

But instead or answering, Roxas took Xion by the hand. "Come on, let's go see what the Captain has to say!"

The two of them hurried out with the last stragglers, which unfortunately meant they were near the back of the crowd that had assembled near the gallows in the middle of the square. The short man climbed up onto the gallows so that everyone could see him, then blew on his trumpet once more to quiet the chatter.

"Here he is!" the man cried out in his silly voice. "The cunning kingfish! The bad barracuda! A man so quick, he's even fast asleep." He paused for applause, but the crowd was dead silent; in fact, there was even a single cough as if to emphasize the silence. Wow, this crew did not like their captain. But the man didn't even seem to notice. "Now let's all give a big hand – 'cause he's only got one! – for Cap'n Hook!"

The little man applauded with gusto at his own introduction, but there were only a few halfhearted claps from the rest of the crowd as the captain walked down the docks from that large red ship and made his way up onto the gallows. When his large feathered hat came into view for Roxas and Xion way in the back of the crowd, Roxas's jaw dropped.

"I knew it! This is the world where I could fly!"

Xion took a step back and gave Roxas a look like he'd just grown a second head. "Did you just say you _flew?_"

Roxas turned his head to look at her. "Did I not mention it before?" Maybe? She honestly couldn't remember if he had or not. "Well, Axel can back me up, he's been here too. Anyway, whenever I'd come to this world for the Organization I would see that captain and his first mate there digging for treasure."

"Oh! Well, if you've been here then at least that means we'll know our way around a bit once we leave town."

Their attention turned back to Captain Hook and his first mate, who he whacked on the head with his namesake hook. "That's for the hand comment, Mr. Smee," the captain growled in a low voice.

Smee saluted. "Aye, Cap'n. Won't happen again."

Ignoring his first mate for now, Captain Hook stepped forward and raised his voice to address the assembled pirates. "As you all know, things have been quiet since we fixed the damages that the _Jolly Roger _received in that ill-fated Heartless attack."

"Oh yeah, it crashed into his ship…" Roxas muttered.

"The scouting party has reported on the developments that have taken place in Neverland since we arrived on this little island for our repairs. I assume some of you scallywags have heard the stories as well?" Hook scanned the crowd with his hands behind his back, but no one responded. Then without warning he suddenly shouted, "Usurpers! Sniveling fiends that seek to take my rightful spot as captain of the pirates of Neverland! And what do we do with usurpers, gentlemen?"

"Keelhaul 'em!" One pirate suggested. The crowd roared at that, cheering and throwing their fists into the air. Xion had to admit it was pretty intimidating, especially considering how they'd been a bunch of rowdy drunks just minutes before.

"Yes, we'll make our names known and show them the folly of trespassing in the domain of Captain James Hook! Now, as I am given to understand, there are two crews that have drifted into these waters. The first is a crew of, of all things, pirate fairies." Hook chuckled and rolled his eyes. "What threat are mere pixies? I dealt with a self-proclaimed pirate fairy even as a young lad. They are nothing to worry about."

Smee rubbed the bump on his head from Hook's earlier smack. "Um, Cap'n, but the version of that story you told me was–"

"Don't dwell on the past, Mr. Smee!" Hook shouted while smacking him upside the head, with his hand this time. "Now then, the other would-be pirate crew is the one that concerns me more. Oh yes, you've all heard the tales as well as I: a ghost ship accompanied by the storm, and their so-called 'Pirate Queen'. Well I say I'll have that pigeon-livered whooperup kneeling at my feet by the time the week is through!"

Riled up by the earlier keelhauling comment, the crowd started to chant. "Hook! Hook! Hook!"

Hook grinned and twirled his mustache as he took in the cheering. "Settle down, settle down! Save some energy for our third and greatest foe. That blasted, _blasted_ PETER PAN!" Hook screamed the name and a loud chorus of boos rang out from the crowd. "Oh yes! I've got plans for that brat, and _this_ time he'll go down along with these upstart pirate crews! So make ready, men: we sail for Neverland in the morning!"

With a flurry of his bright red coat, Hook turned around and made his way back to his ship as the frenzied crowd chanted his name behind him. Xion felt awfully claustrophobic all of a sudden, and turned to Roxas who looked rather thoughtful.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

Roxas nodded. "He said we're on an island when he was talking about repairing the ship." Oh yeah, he did, didn't he? "Which means if we want to find the Keyhole we'll need to find a way off the island." There was a gleam in his eye and he looked over to the _Jolly Roger_.

Xion stared. "Roxas, I know we want a pirate adventure, but stowing away on their ship?"

"Well we're not exactly part of the crew able to just walk aboard!"

Xion bit her lip and glanced over at the ship there. She supposed it was large enough for them to stow away easily, and well, she _had_ told Roxas have fun being pirates. "I guess you're right."

There wasn't much further discussion on the matter. As the crowd started filtering out, Roxas motioned for Xion to follow him behind a stack of crates near the dock. How were they going to get all the way to the ship without being seen? Well, neither minded going for a swim all too much. Blocked from view by the crates they slipped into the water of the cove as silently as they could, holding their breaths as long as they could as they made their way toward the _Jolly Roger_. About halfway down the length of the dock Xion could start to feel a burning sensation in her lungs and grabbed Roxas by the sleeve of his coat to get his attention, then pointed upwards.

They broke the surface in the shadow of the dock, surrounded by barnacle-covered wood with the wooden planks creaking up above as pirates moved up and down the dock. Treading water was difficult in boots, and poor Roxas had that coat of his too. "You still up for this?" Xion asked.

"It's making me work for that adventure, isn't it?" With a grin and a deep breath, Roxas dove back into the water.

They swam around the rear of the ship and over to the far side, where they'd be hidden from view once they surfaced again. But looking up at the slick, high hull of the ship, a problem presented itself right away. "Now how the heck are we going to climb up?" Roxas wondered aloud.

Xion looked around the ship for some answer, swimming further back for a better view, then from the rear to the front. Finally, at the port bow of the _Jolly Roger_, she found their answer: a thick, heavy metal chain leading from the deck into the water. The anchor.

"Roxas!" She tried to keep her voice quiet just in case, but he heard her call and caught on quick. After he joined her at the anchor, Xion grabbed hold of the chain and gave it a tentative tug. "Let me go first – if anyone's on the deck your spiky hair might be noticed easier."

Roxas tugged on his spikes with a pout on his face, but voiced no protest. Xion grabbed hold of the chain and planted her boots on the wood, then began to climb up the side of the ship as if she were scaling a cliff. A tug on the chain from below told her Roxas was close behind, but she didn't dare look. It wasn't that she was scared of heights – she'd spent too much time on the Twilight Town clock tower to be scared of heights – but scaling the ship required all her concentration lest she slip off the wet hull.

At the top of the chain Xion peaked over the railing and examined the deck. It looked completely empty. Hook was probably in his chambers, and there was the sound of rowdy crewmates on the attached dock, but the deck itself seemed clear. "Come on," she whispered as she climbed over the railing and jumped onto the deck.

"That's not good." Roxas said as he grabbed at the tail of his coat, which was dripping seawater. He unzipped and examined his shirt beneath, just as soaked as the rest of him and clinging tightly to his body. Xion quickly averted her gaze at that and glanced down at herself. She wasn't faring much better. In fact they were leaving steadily growing puddles where they stood.

Xion frowned. "If we move we'll leave a trail of water right to wherever we're hiding."

"Oh, hold on, I've got this." Roxas held out his hand and orange sparks gathered in his palm. However the beginnings of the Fire spell quickly transferred over into an Aero spell, buffeting the two of them with a warm wind like they were sitting in front of a fireplace. It swirled around them and through their clothes, quickly drying the two of them off.

"Quick thinking, Roxas!"

"Hey, I know a thing or two."

Well, time to get moving before someone came on deck. They were right out in the open after all. Xion and Roxas hurried toward the two doors they could see near the rear of the ship. "We'll go in the lower one," Roxas explained. "The upper one leads right into Hook's quarters."

But when they reached the lower door, it was locked tight. Not that that could stop them! Roxas and Xion both pulled out their Keyblades and tapped them against the door, which promptly swung open of its own volition…

…right into the middle of a group of pirates playing cards.

"Uh oh."

**x-x-x**

"_Yo ho, yo ho  
__Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho!"_

"_So try the life of a thief  
__Just sample the life of a crook  
__There isn't a boy  
__Who won't enjoy  
__A-workin' for Captain Hook  
__The world's most famous crook"_

Standing on deck and surrounded on all sides of singing pirates, a nervous Roxas and Xion tightened their grips on their Keyblades and quietly took in their situation. They could easily fight their way out of this, but salty sea dogs though they may be these pirates were still just normal men. It wouldn't be right of Keyblade wielders to fight them off so forcefully. Besides, the pirates hadn't actually _done _anything to them yet. And so the two of them continued to observe their surroundings while the crew finished this song.

"_Yo ho, yo ho  
__Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho!"_

"_You'll love the life of a thief  
__You'll relish the life of a crook  
__There's barrels of fun  
__For everyone  
__And you'll get treasures  
__By the ton  
__So come and sign the book  
__Join up with Captain Hook!"_

The crowd parted to reveal Captain Hook as he stepped out of his private cabin, holding a ledger that must have been the book the pirates were referring to. But what caught the Roxas and Xion's attention more was the look he was giving the two of them, or rather, giving their Keyblades. It wasn't confusion at such strange-looking swords. No, there was recognition in his eyes. They dismissed their weapons on the spot but that didn't change what he'd already seen. And then of all things, a welcoming grin spread across his face as he walked down the steps toward them.

"When I was told we had a pair of stowaways my plan was to drop them off the plank and be done with it. But it would appear that there have been some unforeseen circumstances." He chuckled surprisingly warmly and sat down on a chair that Smee pulled up without even being asked to do so. "My dear children, don't think I don't know Keyblades when I see them. You know, keys that can open any door would be of great use to me and my crew." Smee then brought out a small desk which Hook set the ledger down and flipped open, followed by Smee adding a quill and ink. "So indeed, what do you children think? Shall you sign the book? Why, I'll even throw in a free tattoo if you feel so inclined."

Xion stared at the ledger, at the line of names signed in already. Honestly it was…enticing. Not the tattoo, she was honestly a little repulsed by those. But they had wanted a pirate adventure, and as Roxas had said, they weren't exactly part of the crew who could just walk right onto the ship. Not yet, at least.

"What do you think, Roxas?"

Roxas looked from Xion to Hook, who was holding the quill out to him with a smile and raise eyebrows. He took in a breath and then let it out slowly. "You know, last time I was here they mostly just dug for treasure. Sure they're rough around the edges, you know, loud and pirate-y," – and at this one of the crewmen punched another in the face seemingly just because he looked at him funny – "but I don't think it'd be the worst crowd we've ever fallen in with."

Captain Hook tipped his hat. "Why indeed, my boy! We all have our loved ones after all. It's not as though we're heartless."

"I'm definitely interested in a high-seas adventure too." At Xion's words, Hook turned the quill and his grin toward her. "But it'll only be temporary."

"What's this, then?" Hook asked, slowly setting the quill back into the ink and clasping his hands together on the desk.

"We're looking for something," Roxas explained. "And we'll join your crew if you help us find it, but once we have we'll need to move on to other lands. It's kind of an urgent mission."

Hook twisted his mustache with his hook as he thought over Roxas's proposition. Then he rubbed his chin as he thought some more, before nodding. "Very well, my boy. You have a deal. I'll jot down 'temporary' beside your names once you sign. But in exchange for my help, as well as taking you both on this grand pirate adventure you say you crave, I will require a favor of my own from you…and from your Keyblades."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other, and gave the other that silent affirmation. They were on the same page – a few days in Hook's crew, help him out, he helps them find the Keyhole. It sounded fun! They looked back to the captain and answered in unison, "Deal."

"Excellent! Then let's not delay any further. Go on and sign the book."

Roxas took the quill and signed first, his excitement betraying him as he jotted his name down quickly and a tad messily. Xion's own handwriting wasn't much better given her own similar feelings on the matter. Pirates! Honest and true pirates, and they were part of the crew! How awesome was that?!

Hook took the book back from them, gave their names a glance-over, and then just as he said noted their temporary service next to their signatures. "Very good then. Mr. Roxas, Ms. Xion, welcome to the crew of the _Jolly Roger_. Mr. Smee will show you to your quarters. We sail for Neverland at first light!"

* * *

_Well, maybe those two are a bit poor judges of character, but I think both of them would have inherited the strong love of pirates from Sora that we saw him express in the Caribbean in KH2 and 3. I can honestly see Sora doing much the same if he had met Hook before meeting Peter._

_The hardest part of writing this chapter was coming up with pirate designs for Roxas and Xion. I'm a very visual-minded person and needed to have a design in my head beyond just vague "pirate outfits" to write this. I hope my descriptions were enough to help visualize them._


	21. A Pirate's Life

**Chapter 21: A Pirate's Life**

"_First the Tower of London, arr!  
__The guards won't know what hit it  
__We swoop right down and take the crown  
__And the crown jewels with it"_

"_And when we fly to Paris  
__All the treasures I'll be grabbin'  
__The Mona Lisa will look lovely  
__Hanging in me cabin"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__Imagine the places that we'll go  
__No one can stop us when we're so high  
__In the stratosphere"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__We'll be the freighter that plunders  
__Every one of the world's Seven Wonders  
__When we're up in the skies  
__For who can fight a frigate that flies?  
__No one can fight a frigate that flies"_

Early morning on the Never Seas. While one may have expected it to be quiet and serene after so beautiful a night, it was actually quite alive with music as the _Jolly Roger_ sailed toward Neverland proper. Despite their nasty expressions and dirty appearance, the men of Captain Hook's crew could still belt out a song at the drop of a hat. And out there on the open ocean their voices carried clear and far.

"_Next we'll roam to Rome, me lads  
__And here's what I'll be stealing  
__I'll rob the Sistine Chapel  
__Of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling"_

"_And for all the folks in Egypt  
__It will be a dismal day  
__They'll be crying for their mummies  
__When we take their mummies away!"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__Imagine the places that we'll go  
__No one can stop us when we're so high  
__They will all cower in fear, arr!"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__From Delhi to Rio to Venice  
__There's no city that we will not menace  
__When we're up in the skies  
__For who can fight a frigate that flies?  
__No one can fight a frigate that flies"_

And after the crew learned that Xion had taken dance classes it wasn't long before they were egging her on to show off right there on deck. She was convinced eventually, but not about to do it alone roped Roxas in to joining her too despite his lack of even basic dance lessons. But soon the voyage had a whole show going under the morning sun as the crew played music, sang, clapped, and cheered.

"_Hey, ho!  
__Imagine the places that we'll go  
__No one can stop us when we're so high  
__Givin' a pirate cheer, arr!"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__We'll be the freighter that plunders  
__Every one of the world's Seven Wonders  
__When we're up in the skies  
__For who can fight a frigate that flies?"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__There's not a town or a county  
__That will not yield its bounty up  
__When our ship draws near"_

"_Hey, ho!  
__There's not a city or village  
__That we will not plunder or pillage  
__When we're up in the skies  
__For who can fight a frigate that flies?"_

"_And every nation  
__Will give a donation  
__When they see us sail the skies  
__In a frigate that flies!"_

The music came to an end and Roxas and Xion spun around one final time before striking a pose. Their dance had been rough and impromptu, and their faces were slick with sweat as they caught their breaths, but the crew didn't seem to care one bit. They applauded the duo, wrapping their arms around their shoulders and firing compliment after compliment.

"We've got a couplea' right talented new sailors, we do!" declared one.

Roxas slipped out of the grip of a larger pirate who was attempting to give him a noogie. "Come on now, you guys were the ones doing all the singing. And that was a pretty catchy song!"

From the upper deck near the wheel, Mr. Smee chuckled. "Why, it's an old favorite of Cap'n Hook's from his boyhood–" _CLANG!_

Mr. Smee was cut off by Captain Hook smacking his hook into his first mate's head. "It's no such thing, Mr. Smee." Then Hook dismissively he waved his hook as if to shoo Smee away and turned his attention back to steering the ship. "Now check with the lookout. Where are we?"

Dazed, swaying, and with stars in his eyes, Smee still gave a salute. "Aye, aye, Cap'n." He quickly shook his head, his cheeks flapping at the motions. Once he had recovered from the captain's beating, Smee ran to the railing on the upper deck and called to the crow's nest high above. "Ahoy, Mr. Lookout! Any sign?"

The crew, Roxas and Xion included, all turned their attention up to the lookout as he peered through his spyglass. After a moment the man gasped and called down below: "Land ho! Neverland off the port bow!"

"Neverland off the port bow!" Smee repeated back to Hook.

"I heard him loud and clear, Smee." Hook spun the wheel, causing the ship to lurch toward port. "All hands on deck! Make ready to drop anchor!"

Smee repeated the orders to the crew. "All hands on deck! Make ready to drop anchor!"

Immediately everyone scrambled, leaving Roxas and Xion in the eye of a storm as pirates ran back and forth, this way and that up and down the deck. They tied some ropes and untied others, furled some sails and unfurled others. And those two poor kids, having never been on a ship before, were left standing in the middle of it all hopelessly confused.

"Set a course for Cannibal Cove, Smee!"

"Set a course for Cannibal Cove, Smee! …Oh, yes. Aye aye, Cap'n!" With another salute Smee hurried and took over the wheel.

With his arms behind his back Hook slowly and deliberately moved down the steps toward the lower deck, with the pirates continuing to move and hurry for landing but swerving around him without him needing to do so much as glance in their direction. He approached the still-bewildered Roxas and Xion and draped his good arm over their shoulders while tugging at his mustache with his hook.

"My dear children, I take it this is your first time seeing Neverland?"

"I've been to the smaller islands near here, but never Neverland itself," Roxas answered.

"It's my first time here at all," Xion added. She looked a bit nervously at everyone running around. "Is there anything we can do to help with preparations?"

"Nonsense! If this is your first time seeing Neverland, then it should be one to make a memory of! Come, this way." His arm still over their shoulders, Hook directed Roxas and Xion up to the bow of the ship. He pulled out a spyglass and peered into it for a moment. "Yes, you should be able to see the island with the naked eye any minute now. It really is quite the beautiful sight, you know."

As the _Jolly Roger_ continued its way through the Never Seas and behind the three of them the crew continued their preparations, Roxas and Xion eagerly looked out over the horizon. Sure enough, soon a point of green began to come into focus in the middle of the endless blue. As it got closer and they could begin to make out details, Xion gasped.

"It's so pretty!"

And that it was. Neverland was a lush island, covered in vibrant green jungle from the shore to the mountaintops. They were approaching from the south, and it appeared that elevation on the island rose the more you moved toward the center of the island. Though the shore closest to them was at sea level, the mountains further back reached up into the clouds and had rainbows dancing between their peaks.

Hook leaned down between their heads. "Aye it's pretty, and as captain it is rightfully my domain. But my claim has been challenged time and time again. Not only by these recent usurper pirate crews, but more importantly, and more numerously, by a certain upstart young brat who lives in the jungle."

The ship moved toward a natural harbor which must have been the Cannibal Cove Hook mentioned earlier. It was certainly ominously named, but it didn't look the part. The water was crystal clear, revealing vibrant coral and bright, colorful fish beneath the surface. The golden sands surrounding three-fourths of the cove shined brightly in the sun, and the calls of monkeys and parrots could be heard coming from the jungle just a few yards from the water. But if they listened closely, they could hear something else beneath the animal cries. A soft, monotonous sound.

_Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

Xion would have thought she was hearing things if Hook hadn't frozen up behind the two Keyblade wielders. His body was rigid, his grip on her shoulder tight, and his eyes wide; but actually, on a second glance, he wasn't _completely_ frozen. His mustache was moving in time with the faint noise, up with the ticks and down with the tocks.

Roxas craned his neck to look at Hook behind them. "Um, Captain..?"

Xion pried herself out of Hook's grip and peered over the edge of the ship, where she could hear the ticking coming from. The sight that greeted her certainly wasn't one she had expected! Lounging on a rock that stuck out of the water was a large green crocodile, its tail wagging in time with the ticking. Was… was it the source of the sound? The crocodile licked its lips as it eyed the _Jolly Roger_, and then noticed Xion watching it and winked at her.

What in the world?

"S-S-S-SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Hook bolted off without warning. He dashed toward the back of the ship as if the devil himself were at his heels, knocking aside crewmen without any regard for their own safety.

"What is it, Cap'n?"

Hook didn't even acknowledge the question. Instead he shoved Smee aside, sending the tubby first mate tumbling onto the lower deck, and gripped the wheel tight in his white, clammy fingers. His whole body shook, his eyes were wide as saucers, his teeth chittered, and his mustache continued to move along with the tick-tock, tick-tock.

Speaking of which, the ticking was moving. Xion turned again to look out at the water, where the crocodile had slipped off its rock and began swimming toward the rear of the ship. Its tail and eyes stuck out of the water, tail wagging and eyes bopping up and down in time with the ticking.

Hook screamed bloody murder again and spun the wheel, lurching the entirety of the _Jolly Roger_ to the right super suddenly and threatening to capsize it. But it was a tough old boat and righted itself out quickly as it turned on a dime, now pointing out of Cannibal Cove. Hook tugged on a rope to unfurl all the sails, and with another lurch forward the ship took off – fast! The old galleon moved as if it was suddenly a motorboat.

As Xion, Roxas, and the rest of the crew held on to anything they could to avoid falling overboard, Smee slowly climbed up to join the two Keyblade wielders. Roxas coughed as seawater splashed his face. "Mr. Smee, what's gotten into the captain?!"

Smee chuckled, but there was a hint of exasperation behind his voice. "Oh, that was ol' Tick-Tock Croc! Don't mind him, he just chases the Cap'n on account of eating his hand way back when. He liked the taste, y'see."

Xion could _feel_ the blood drain from her face, and knew her voice would shake even before she spoke. "_Pardon?_"

"Oh yes, Peter Pan chopped off Cap'n Hook's hand and fed it to the crocodile! But not to worry, we always know when he's comin' because he swallowed a clock too. That's why you hear the tick-tock, tick-tock…"

Smee trailed off, and Roxas and Xion stared at each other as they continued to hold tightly to the ship. Cut off Hook's hand and fed it to a crocodile? Just what kind of madman was this Peter Pan anyway? The concern lingered on their minds as Hook's hysteria died down and, eventually, he stopped in the waters somewhere near the western end of the island and dropped anchor. There was no good way for the ship to reach the shore without a deep-water port, and so the crew set about getting a dinghy ready while Smee spoke to a shaking Hook in hushed tones, trying to calm the rest of his nerves.

They had spotted Neverland in the morning, but after all that chaos and changing of plans it was past noon by the time Roxas and Xion set foot on dry land. They were at the base of an unbelievably tall cliff, the _Jolly Roger_ visible but distant out at sea, and the dinghy bobbing in the water beside them with Smee holding the oars.

"Cap'n, are you sure Chief Great Big Little Panther won't notice us?" As he asked the question Smee stared up the cliff. Xion could just barely make out cheering and singing coming from the top.

"Is that one of Pan's friends?" Roxas asked.

"I suppose he is, yes. He's the chief of a tribe that lives up on top of these cliffs."

"Aye, and any friend of Peter Pan's is an enemy of mine." Hook adjusted his hat and took a quick look at their surroundings, then one more glance up the cliff. "I'm positive we'll be undiscovered, Mr. Smee. We're surrounded by rocks and cloaked in the shade. Besides, we'll only be here for a few minutes. Now then, Roxas, Xion."

The two started and stood at attention. "Aye, Captain!"

"As you recall, the terms of your employment were providing me the use of your Keyblades. I take it you're curious to know just what for?" Hook grinned wryly at the two of them as he reached into his coat and pulled out a rolled up parchment. He handed it to Roxas who slowly unfurled it, careful not to tear it given its obvious age.

"This is…"

"A map of Neverland, yes. And we're here near the Indian Camp." Hook tapped the map with his hook and then dragged it upward. "Your target, my dear children, is here to the north: Hangman's Tree. That is where Peter Pan has made his home base."

Xion frowned ever so slightly. Okay, so what did that have to do with their Keyblades? "Do you want us to unlock his front door?"

Hook chuckled and shook his head. "No, no. Your goal is inside the tree, in Pan's hideout. He has stolen something of mine, you see. Something very precious, very valuable – irreplaceable, even! And it has been locked in a chest. _That_ is where your wonderful keys come in."

Roxas rubbed his chin as he examined the map. "Okay, I think I get it. So we sneak in to Peter Pan's hideout, unlock this chest, and take what's inside?"

"But how do we know if it's the right chest?" Xion asked.

"Clever girl, aren't you? But it's a simple answer! The treasure Pan stole from me glows, you see. The chest that contains it will have a blue light visible through the keyhole."

Roxas rolled the map back up and put it in his coat pocket. "That sounds easy enough to find to me. We're happy to help, Captain Hook, but don't forget we do have a deal. You need to help us find what we're looking for once we get your treasure."

Hook's smile was warm as he held his arms out. "Why of course! And if anything, what you retrieve will make it easier for us to find what you're looking for. Once you have my prize, meet up with the ship at Mermaid Lagoon on the eastern end of the island. We're safe here for now, but Smee is right – it's better not to risk the chief spotting us."

"Aye, aye." Roxas saluted, then looked to Xion and held out his hand. "Arr, ye ready for an adventure?"

Xion laughed and took his hand. "Always, you scurvy dog! Let's go find us some buried treasure!"

**x-x-x**

As it turned out, Neverland was a lot bigger than it looked from the water and wasn't all that easy to traverse. And the hardest part? Well that had to be their challenge right at the start: scaling the cliff that Hook had left them at. It didn't help that the rocks were slick from the waterfalls. It was almost like this place was made with flight in mind–

Oh yeah.

About halfway up their climb, Xion stopped on a wide enough foothold to allow for it. "Roxas, no one is around to see us if we want to use our Keyblade Gliders."

Xion's realization came when Roxas was just about to jump to his next platform, and he nearly slipped and fell back down to the sea when she said it. He flailed his arms and leaned back from the edge to regain his footing, then after a moment's pause called his Keyblade out without a word, his bright red face the only commentary needed.

And so the second half of scaling the Rainbow Falls was easy going, but they chose to walk once they reach the top just in case any natives to this world saw them. The land leveled out quickly and they followed a thin river further inland, crossing a bridge formed from a fallen tree as they did so. The river eventually settled at the base of a gulley, and the familiar sounds of partying could be heard coming from one of the canyon exits. Roxas peered around the rock wall, catching sight of the village which they had been beneath earlier. Their detour during the journey up the cliff had taken them to practically right above where they'd started.

"Let's try the other way," he said with his finger held in front of his lips.

North was where Hook and the map said Hangman's Tree was located, and so north was where they went. Gradually their rocky surroundings gave way to dense jungle, which certainly made the trek easier, but marching through a jungle was still no afternoon stroll.

"You doing okay?"

In the middle of wiping the sweat from her forehead, Xion glanced over at Roxas who was watching her curiously. She brushed her hands on her skirt and gave a nod. "Yeah. It's just humid is all."

"Like we're back on the Destiny Islands," Roxas agreed with a grin.

Xion ducked under a low-hanging branch and then held it aside for Roxas to pass by. "This world almost doesn't feel real, because it definitely wasn't tropical by that village."

"I know what you mean. I mean, I guess I'm not an expert, but pine trees and palm trees being so close together is kind of weird. It's like this whole island is a patchwork." Roxas looked through the trees and caught sight of a grizzly bear trying to climb a banana tree, as if nature was proving his point. "Like it came from a bunch of different ideas that some kids had while playing pretend."

The jungle began to thin as they approached a clearing, and Xion slowly came to a stop at the edge of the tree line. "Speaking of which."

If there was one single thing that came from kids playing pretend, it was the sight in front of them: a large tree smack-dab in the center of the forest with small round doors all over the trunk. That had to be Hangman's Tree, and frankly it wouldn't have looked out of place on the play island back in the Destiny Islands.

They approached the tree warily; if this was Peter Pan's hideout, then it was possible he left some lookout. But no one had jumped out at them by the time they reached the tree, and even when Roxas slowly opened one of the doors there was no alarm or anything. No guards even when the pirates knew exactly where this place was? Was this Peter guy confident he'd be okay, or was he just an idiot?

The two of them peered inside the small round hollow, which was just barely big enough for them to squeeze in single file. Turned out the entire tree had been hollowed out, with a system of makeshift stairs, lifts, and ladders leading down underground. With a look back over his shoulder Roxas gave Xion a nod and then went in first. Xion looked back behind her to make sure they weren't being followed, then quickly went in after him and shut the door behind her.

So as it turned out, they were actually too big for the staircase. "Does Peter Pan have gnomes working for him or something?" Roxas muttered as he just jumped the few yards down into the earth, skipping the system of ladders and steps entirely. Xion landed soon after him. It was cool and damp in here, as to be expected from an underground cave. They traveled through a short tunnel and under a pond that was on the ceiling instead of the floor, the colorful fish within watching them with interest. That was probably the weirdest thing Xion had seen so far today, and yet somehow it fit right in with what she'd seen of the rest of Neverland. Down another few steps, and they finally emerged in what had to be Peter Pan's hideout.

"Okay, let's look for that chest," Roxas said.

Easier said than done, this place was a mess. There was clutter everywhere, just random things like wooden swords and pottery and bear skin rugs scattered all over the place. Maybe they were keepsakes or something, but to an outsider it all just looked like junk. Xion moved aside an oversized headdress made of feathers, revealing a stuffed bear underneath.

"You know…" She picked up the bear and set it on a nearby hammock. A noticeably small hammock. "This place doesn't exactly seem like some wicked enemy's stronghold." The small beds, the scattered toys, the almost whimsical idea of living inside a cave under a hollow tree… She couldn't imagine someone who cut off a pirate's hand and fed it to a crocodile living here. It was more like a children's playroom. "Are we sure we're in the right place?"

Roxas scratched his head while he looked up from a wooden chest he was digging through. "We followed Hook's directions, so I think so." Then he let out a breath and looked around the room with a shrug. "But yeah, something isn't right here."

"…Let's ask Hook for the truth after we get back to him. He clearly isn't telling us everything."

Roxas stood up and dusted off his legs. "What about our deal with him? Should we leave the treasure he's looking for here, do you think?"

Xion bit her lip. Good question. She looked around the room again. They needed more information what was going on with this Pan guy, but as far as their own issue was concerned… "Hook recognized our Keyblades, so he's still our best bet to find the Keyhole for now. Let's keep our deal, but if something goes wrong, it's not like we can't fight him off. He's just a pirate – we've handled worse."

After a moment, Roxas nodded. "Okay, then that's the plan. Let's keep looking."

Xion moved aside a bear rug hanging on the wall, revealing a door leading to a single room behind it. And there, sitting in the dark next to a makeshift chair of wood and animal hide, was a small chest with a faint blue glow coming out of the keyhole. Just like Hook said. Xion turned back to the main room. "Roxas, in here!"

The chest wasn't very large, it was maybe a bit bigger than a shoebox. It was made of wood with golden leaves decorating it; not gold leaf, but literal golden leaves. Clearly magic of some sort. With a glance at Roxas, Xion held the box up to him and he tapped it with Oathkeeper. A chime sounded from the box and echoed throughout Peter Pan's hideout before the lid slowly creaked open. Xion and Roxas peered inside.

"This is all it is?" Disappointment dripped from Roxas's voice, and Xion had to agree.

They set the chest down on the chair and lifted its contents out of it. Nothing but a simple brown sack tied shut by some rope, with the blue glow coming from within. "Some buried pirate treasure this turned out to be." She'd been expecting gold and jewels; maybe lapis lazuli or sapphires, since it was blue. You know, something pretty, something she could maybe make a necklace or bracelet out of. The sack sure wasn't much to look at, and it was way too light to be holding metals or gems. In fact, as she squeezed the sack, it felt like sand was all that was in there. Glowing blue sand, woo, how impressive.

"How lame. Well, we got Hook's 'treasure', so I guess let's get out of here."

"I guess so," Xion said. Man, what a disappointing way to end their first day as pirates.

Past the ceiling-pond and up the ladders and stairs, they made their way back outside. Xion climbed out of Hangman's Tree first, then turned around to help Roxas out. She tied the sack to her waist while he pulled the map Hook had given them out of his coat. "Hook said to meet up with him at Mermaid Lagoon. We're way at the north point of the island, but it looks like it's just a straight shot southeast through the jungle."

"Sounds good."

Xion turned to move back toward the edge of the clearing, but as soon as she took her first step, a sound something like _fwick_ came out from the trees. Xion froze in place as an arrow narrowly avoided piercing her leg, instead landing arrowhead-first in the soft earth. Without needing any more warning both Roxas and Xion were immediately on the defensive, backs pressed against each other and Keyblades at the ready.

"Do you see anything?"

"No, I– there!"

In the trees, standing on a branch, was a girl a couple years younger than them, wielding a bow and glaring daggers their way. She had darker skin, black hair, and if looks could kill they would easily be dead by now. Was she from that village? Had they been spotted after all?

"Good job, Tiger Lily! That'll stop those pirates!"

A boy's voice called out from the trees, and suddenly a blur of green _flew_ into the clearing. Flew! A kid around the girl's age pounded his chest and let out a rooster crow, hovering in the air while gold dust sparkled off his body. Still on the defensive, both Xion and Roxas took particular notice of the dagger hanging on the boy's belt.

"Good goin', Pan! You caught 'em!" Dozens of light footfalls followed the flying boy as a small army of even younger kids dressed in animal pajamas emerged from the jungle. A couple of them were carrying clubs, but even the oldest of them couldn't be older than like eight years old, what in the world was going on here?!

Roxas and Xion backed up against the tree, keeping their Keyblades out and pointed toward this sudden surprise party. They were surrounded, and while the kids were surely no threat, the boy and girl could be trouble. Especially if he was Peter Pan, who he certainly had to be.

This was bad.

* * *

_The song that the crew was singing at the beginning is "The Frigate that Flies" from The Pirate Fairy, one of those Tinker Bell movies that take place before she meets Peter. The movie in general and song in particular served as the inspiration for this Neverland visit, but it doesn't tie in directly and enough will be explained that I don't think you'll need to watch it to understand. I do recommend watching it just for the sake of watching it though; I haven't seen any of the other Tinker Bell movies but The Pirate Fairy is pretty good._


	22. The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up

**Chapter 22: The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up**

"So what do we have here?"

The boy, the one who had to be Peter Pan, hovered in the air above the jungle clearing with his arms crossed. He didn't look ready to attack, but his companion – the girl, Tiger Lily – already had her bow primed and another arrow aimed. And there were the kids too, but some toddlers in pajamas wouldn't be a threat even if some of them were armed with clubs.

"Intruders," snapped Tiger Lily. "Pirates!" Short and to the point. She reminded him of Fuu.

But despite that almost familiar way of speech, Roxas bit his tongue before snapping back at her. Backs against a tree, Keyblades out, stolen bag of glow-in-the-dark blue sand tied to Xion's belt. And oh yeah, let's not forget the little pirate costumes. Between their Keyblades and Tiger Lily's bow, it was like an Old West standoff without the Old West. They couldn't look more suspicious if they tried. Besides, they _were_ guilty – as guilty as you could be when stealing back stolen goods, anyway.

…_If that's what's really going on,_ Roxas thought, his mind going back to the childlike interior of Hangman's Tree.

Pan leaned forward in the air and cupped his chin while narrowing his eyes. His gaze was focused on Roxas in particular. "Well, they sure dress the part, but I haven't seen 'em with Hook before. And...besides…"

As Pan trailed off, a child dressed like a bear spoke up. "Uhh, maybe they're part of the Pirate Queen's crew!"

"Yeah, or with the pixie crew!" offered the synchronized voices of a pair twins in raccoon pajamas.

Roxas groaned under his breath before lowering his Keyblade ever so slightly; not entirely, but enough to show them he was trying to be nonthreatening. "Listen, we don't want to fight. I have some questions–" He took a step forward, but…

_Fwick!_

Tiger Lily's arrow narrowly avoided piercing him in the leg, landing in the grass beside him instead. But it didn't miss, that was very clearly intentional. A warning shot.

"Don't move." Another arrow was already nocked and aimed.

Roxas grit his teeth and looked from Tiger Lily to Pan. He had stood – er, floated – straight up again, with his arms crossed over his chest. And the possibility of Tiger Lily nearly skewering the two of them, depriving Pan of getting any answers, didn't seem to bother him one bit.

With some hesitation, Roxas lowered his hand completely to his side and then dismissed his Keyblade. Once more he stepped forward–

_Fwi_–_BLAM!_

Tiger Lily had launched the next arrow, but it was intercepted, shot out of the sky by Xion. And not with magic, either. Her Keyblade had been replaced with a pistol, the barrel of which was still smoking. Roxas did a double-take at the sight. When had she gotten _that_? Had she replicated it back on the pirates' island? Well wherever she had gotten it from, Pan and his crew recognized what it was just as much as Roxas did. Immediately the children were in an uproar.

"Xion?!" was all Roxas was able to croak out. Now any chance of talking this out was shot – no pun intended!

Xion bit her lip and looked to the side, but didn't lower the pistol. "Sorry, but I wasn't about to let you get shot." Her voice was apologetic, but quiet under the children's surprise and, strangely, excitement.

"That's a pirate's gun!"

"Wow, that was so cool!"

"Quiet!" Tiger Lily snapped, and the children complied immediately. She leaped down from the tree and marched up to Pan, keeping her eye on Roxas and Xion the entire time. Pan lowered down beside her. "All the proof we need, Peter."

Pan lowered to the ground and cupped his chin once again. Xion kept the pistol leveled at them, but her hand was shaking now. But even with Xion's obvious nervousness, Tiger Lily still recognized her as a threat and was already reaching for another arrow from her quiver. Pan, though, looked confused about something. "That's definitely a pirate's pistol, alright. But…"

As Tiger Lily nocked another arrow and prepared to fire, Pan held up his hand in front of her. She blinked once in confusion and then slowly lowered her bow. "Peter?"

Rather than address her, Pan turned his attention from Xion to Roxas. He shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing all dressed up as a pirate, Ven?"

What.

_What?_

"…What did you just call me?" Roxas asked, absolutely dumbfounded. Did he just say _Ven?_ _Peter Pan_ knew _Ven_? Beside him Xion suddenly started cracking up in nervous laughter. And he couldn't blame her! This was so absurd. Here they were worried they were about to get gutted by a dagger or become a pincushion of arrows, and suddenly Hook's enemy calls him _Ven?_

"I gotta say, Ven, I sure didn't expect you to pop up again after all this time. And as part of Hook's crew of all things? Well, I assume Hook's anyway. The Pirate Queen only has those weird husks with her, and the pixies wouldn't have guns that size."

As Pan continued to ramble on, Tiger Lily looked at him with a dumbfounded expression that perfectly matched how Roxas felt. "You know him?"

"Why, sure! Ven helped me and some of the Lost Boys find some of Hook's buried treasure a long time ago." He looked back over his shoulder at the crowd of kids. "Remember men?"

A boy in fox pajamas gasped. "Hey, that's right!"

"But what I don't understand is why you're part of his crew now, Ven?"

By now Xion's laughter had died down. She shook her head. "Sorry, but we kind of have a misunderstanding here. My name is Xion, and this isn't Ven. He's–"

A jingling chime rang out through the forest. Interrupted yet again, huh? But wait, why was that sound so familiar to Roxas? From within the trees came a small golden light that darted over the heads of the children, leaving golden dust behind it as it flew. It approached Pan and circled above his head. "Oh, hey there, Tink! I see you finally caught up. And look who's come to visit! Ven's finally back!"

The light paused its circling for a moment before it turned on a dime and shot over to Roxas, getting right up in his face. Xion jumped aside in surprise as the light obscuring the little creature faded just enough for them to finally make out the figure beneath.

Roxas gasped. "Hey, it's you!"

"Wait, you who?" Xion asked.

Roxas laughed as the little pixie swirled around him happily. "Xion, I met this girl when I came here before. She's the one I told you about who would help me fly!" He laughed, but then after only a moment, frowned. "Wait, you're a good person, so then what are you doing with…?"

Trailing off as realization dawned on him, Roxas looked over to Xion. She had clearly already put it together in her head, too. Just like they'd talked about inside Hangman's Tree, evidently things weren't as Hook had made them seem. Pan knowing Ven and Roxas's fairy friend being on Pan's side were the final nails in that coffin.

Leaving Roxas behind, the pixie turned back to Pan and began 'speaking' to him. What followed was a conversation that for Roxas and Xion was completely unintelligible, with one side only making jingling bell noises and the other only chiming in with the occasional "uh huh" or "really?". After a few back-and-forths of that, Peter Pan gasped and swiped at the pixie. "What?! Why didn't you say something about that sooner, Tink?!"

Clearly irritated at being out of the loop, Tiger Lily tugged on Pan's arm. "Peter, what did Tinker Bell say?"

"She says Ven came to Neverland a few months ago, too. And he even helped save her from Hook back then." Pan turned back to Roxas and Xion. "But if you were in the area, why didn't you visit? And are you ever gonna explain why you're dressed as pirates?"

Tinker Bell's eyes bulged out at that question, and she turned to look at Roxas and Xion in a new light. Had she really not noticed? As she looked Roxas and Xion up and down, taking in their appearance, she froze when she caught sight of the sack hanging at Xion's waist. _Literally_ froze – she was so shocked that her wings stopped flapping for a moment and she fell about a foot before catching herself.

Uh oh.

To the surprise of both Peter Pan and Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell darted at Xion. Xion tried to jump back and avoid the tiny pixie flying right toward her, but she still had her back pressed up against the tree from the earlier confrontation. Cornered, she was unable to avoid Tinker Bell as the pixie unleashed her wrath…tugging violently at a few locks of Xion's hair.

"Ow! Hey! Cut it out!" Xion cried, swatting at Tinker Bell as if she were a buzzing fly.

Now it was Pan's turn to shoot forward. He grabbed Tinker Bell by the waist and tugged at her, but with Tink's iron grip on Xion's hair, Pan pulling just hurt the poor girl more. "Tinker Bell, what's gotten into you?! Stop! That's Ven's friend, Tink!"

"We're trying to tell you, I'm not– Oh this isn't the time for this!" Roxas hurried over to Xion's side as well, desperately trying to untangle Tink from her hair. It was an absolute mess as the three of them all tumbled over each other to get Tinker Bell to let go, with Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys looked on in silent fascination at the sight, like watching a train wreck.

As Pan, Roxas, and Xion's arms all entangled with each other trying to get rid of Tinker Bell, and with Xion crying out as her hair was tugged this way and that, it didn't take long for her to lose her balance. With one last yelp of pain Xion's feet slipped out from under her and she crashed into Roxas, knocking both to the ground in a pile. Pan yelled out in triumph as he pulled back into the air with the struggling Tinker Bell tightly in his grasp, then looked to the tangled mess in front of him and gasped as his eyes locked onto a certain something in particular.

"Hey, that's ours! Ven, are you trying to steal from us?"

"Ow…" Lying flat on top of Roxas, Xion muttered in pain while rubbing her scalp. Then, belatedly realizing what Pan had said, she gasped and desperately tried to cover the stolen sack with her hands. Not that it meant much at this point anyway.

"Alright, that's enough." Roxas grumbled. He pushed himself up onto his feet, causing Xion to tumble off of his back with another surprised yelp. After climbing to his feet he held out a hand to help Xion up, who was now holding Pan's treasure in her hands with an ashamed blush creeping up on her face. Roxas "Peter Pan, right? I think introductions are in order."

Tilting his head in confusion, Pan settled back down onto the grass beside Tiger Lily. Tinker Bell slipped out of his grasp and parked herself on top of his hat.

"I know I look like him, but I'm not Ventus. My name is Roxas. And this is my friend Xion."

"_Not_ Ven? Well I guess you do come across as a bit gruffer than him, but that sure is weird. Are you his twin brother?"

Xion let out a nervous laugh. "He's not. Trust us, it's a long story. But we are friends of Ven's."

Pan broke into a wide smile. "Well whatever the story is, a friend of Ven's is a friend of mine! I'm Peter Pan. This is Tinker Bell, Tiger Lily, and the Lost Boys." After gesturing to each of them in turn, his brow furrowed. "But if you're friends, then why are you stealing our things?"

"That's…"

"Um…"

Xion and Roxas started to speak at the same time, before Tiger Lily held up a hand. "Not here. Better not to be in the open. Men, let's go in."

Pan frowned. "Tiger Lily, you know I give the orders around here–"

"C'mon, men! Like the commander said!"

The pitter-patter of little feet sounded across the clearing as all of the Lost Boys hurried past the older kids in a blur of colors, pulling on Hangman's Tree's vines and opening the any round doors into their hideout. As Pan stared after the last of the kids and Tink shook her fist at Tiger Lily, the archer gave the so-called leader of the Lost Boys a half-smile and slipped into Hangman's Tree as well.

Pan sighed. "Okay, I guess we'll continue inside."

**x-x-x**

Tiger Lily pulled back the bear skin rug hanging over the doorway, watching the Lost Boys as they all settled into their many makeshift beds. She let the rug fall back into place, putting the back room into a darkness illuminated by the twin glows of Tinker Bell and the stolen-and-returned sack that now sat in an open treasure chest.

Peter Pan fell back into that wood and animal hide chair that Roxas and Xion had seen earlier and crossed his arms. Tiger Lily moved beside him, and then Tink let out a silent huff and shoved her away as best she could before settling down on Peter's shoulder.

"Okay, let's try this again," Peter said, leaning forward with one hand on his knee. With the pose plus the dim light he almost looked like a crime boss. "You're not Ventus, you're Roxas, and this is your friend Xion. Now why were you trying to take our things, again?"

Xion rubbed her arm while Roxas scratched the back of his head. Boy, where to even begin? "Well, you're right about us working for Captain Hook," Roxas began to explain. When Tiger Lily raised an eyebrow, he hastily continued, "But the situation isn't as simple as just being part of his crew."

"We're looking for something," Xion added. "Hook promised to help us find it if we took back his treasure from you."

Roxas and Xion expected some outrage at that. And while Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell certainly didn't look pleased, to the surprise of not only the two Keyblade wielders but even Peter's own companions the leader of the Lost Boys suddenly burst into laughter.

"_I_ took _his_ treasure?" Peter repeated with a ridiculous grin on his place. He wrapped his arms around his belly and continued to laugh. "That sure is a hoot! Age must have finally caught up to him, he's going senile!"

The reaction wasn't really a surprise at this point, but Roxas and Xion couldn't help but look at each other with dread as Peter continued to laugh as if someone had just told the most hilarious joke in the world. It was clear by now that the impression Captain Hook and the rest of the crew had given them about Peter was far from the truth. Maybe he was a bit _odd_, but at his heart Peter Pan was just an immature kid, not some coldblooded monster who'd cut off a man's hand and feed it to a crocodile.

Eventually, Peter's laughter quieted down. He slumped forward with his hands on his knees. "Well anyway, it's probably true that Hook would keep his promise and help you find what you're looking for. If you brought the treasure to him, I mean. We're both men of our words in that way."

Roxas didn't fail to notice Tinker Bell roll her eyes at that, and Tiger Lily muttered under her breath, "Stick to the word maybe, but not the spirit."

"But the treasure isn't his to take in the first place. It belongs to us, and he's been trying to get it for a while."

"I think we've kind of figured that out by now," Xion said with a glance at the soft blue glow of the sack. "But even if you really think Hook will keep his word, I'm guessing it's too much for us to ask to have the treasure anyway?"

Peter lifted his cap slightly and scratched the top of his head. "Tiger Lily's right: he'd stick to the letter of his promise, but not the spirit of it. Oh he'd help you find what you're looking for all right, but who knows what he'd do to you after? Probably shoot you and throw you overboard before taking it for himself."

A pit was beginning to form in Roxas's gut now. How much had he underestimated the type of person Hook was? Sure he had known he was a pirate, but he had seemed so bumbling whenever Roxas would come by on missions for the Organization. "He'd really do that?"

As if someone flipped a switch on him, Peter swapped from jovial to deadly serious in a moment. "Listen to me. Captain Hook may be a goofy old codfish, but he's still a bad guy. A _dangerous_ bad guy. He can and will hurt people to get what he wants. He's planted a bomb in Hangman's Tree and tried to drown Tiger Lily, just for a start."

The bit in Roxas's gut immediately opened into a full-blown crevasse as he felt the blood drain from his face. Joining this crew had been his idea, and Xion had warned him about it too. He'd led them right into a team up with a man who'd go as far as _murder_. At least it wasn't a magical binding like Hades had been, but he should have been more aware. He should have been able to recognize someone so unhinged after dealing with Xemnas for so long.

"Damn it…" Roxas hissed to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut banged his clenched fist against his forehead. Stupid! Stupid! And after they'd just finished their big talk with Lea, too. Now Xion was at risk a second time, and–

Xion's fingers slipped between his. She gently pulled his hand away from his forehead. "Roxas, stop beating yourself up over this. We're fine." Roxas opened his eyes to see her looking right at him, her soft features illuminated by the light of Tinker Bell's glow. "Now we know what he's like. We learned before anything happened, which means it's not going to be a repeat of Olympus. We're going to keep each other safe this time."

As she spoke, it was like the pit was being filled. Roxas let out a breath and put his free hand over hers, so he was holding onto her with both. "Yeah. You're right. Sorry Xion, I overreacted."

She shook her head. "Not at all. I understand the worry."

"Sheesh, and sometimes they say _I'm_ dramatic." Looking away from his friend, Roxas now saw Peter back in 'goof mode' and lounging in his seat. Tiger Lily was looking away with an awkward flushing on her cheeks, while Tink was giving her a death glare.

Roxas chuckled and put his hands on his hips. "After that laughing fit? We've just met and I can definitely say they're right about that."

"What good is a life without laughter? It's better than being melancholy all day, which is why I pull pranks on Hook all the time." Peter's own words suddenly brought him to a pause, and after a moment he broke into a wide grin. "Hey, that gives me an idea!" He leaned over the side of his seat.

Tiger Lily turned to him. "Peter?"

Peter was reaching for the sack, just sitting there unguarded in the open treasure chest. And Tinker Bell, well, she didn't like that one bit. With an enraged expression that mirrored the one she'd worn when seeing Xion with the treasure outside, Tink charged at Peter and began to tug at his sleeve to pull his hand away.

"Hey Tink, what're ya doing?! Come on, let go of me!" Peter swatted at Tinker Bell, but she just moved from one sleeve to the other. "Tink, I swear, I'm just trying to mess with Hook a little! This stuff isn't even that big a deal anyway, is it?" Tinker Bell paused and gasped at those words before continuing her fight to keep Peter away from whatever it was that was even in the sack. And all the while, all Roxas, Xion, and Tiger Lily could do was watch in baffled fascination. Boy, what a weird sight this was.

Eventually Peter won their game of keep-away, as he grabbed Tink in one hand, nabbed the sack in the other, then tossed Tink into the empty chest and slammed it shut on her. Angry bells chimed from inside, but someone so little couldn't open it on her own. Roxas wanted to ask if that was too cruel, but Tiger Lily didn't even bat an eye at it. Maybe this was normal for them? Peter certainly moved on as if the whole exchange hadn't happened.

Peter stood up and lifted up from his chair, hovering just above it as he held the glowing sack up triumphantly. "I can never resist messing with that old codfish, and this whole conversation has given me a great new way to have some fun with it!" He tossed the sack Roxas's way, and having not expected that, Roxas fumbled to catch it.

Roxas stared at the sack, at the blue glow seeping through the worn fabric, and then looked back up at Peter with a baffled expression. "Wait, you're just giving this to us? After all the warnings?"

Peter pressed a finger to the side of his nose and winked. "Why sure! You two are gonna be a key part of this game after all. And besides, I do want to help you find what you're looking for. Any friends of Ventus are friends of mine."

Roxas looked down at the treasure again, quiet. Gosh, he didn't know what to say. Beside him, Xion spoke up. "So we're just going to give this to Hook after all? But I thought you said he'd betray us after helping."

"Oh, he will – but not if we betray _him_ first!"

As Peter began to talk, Tinker Bell's chest prison stopped shaking. Her yellow glow grew brighter as she poked her head out of the keyhole, followed by her arms, all the while glaring daggers at Peter. But she only got as far as her waist before getting caught on something. Shifting her irritated look from Peter to the keyhole, Tink pressed against it again and again trying to fit her rear end through. After repeated failures to fit herself through the small opening, Tinker Bell slumped in disappointment, her upper body dangling uselessly from the keyhole.

"Tink, what're ya doing? Come on, I need your help!" With one finger Peter shoved Tinker Bell back inside the chest, then opened the lid to allow her to fly out. "Okay Tink, I need you to do me a favor! I need you to go to Pixie Hollow and tell those three pirate friends of yours that Hook's new crewmates are about to give him some real great treasure. And then when Hook collects it their crew will come to take it, and we'll surprise him with a big ol' sea battle!"

Tiger Lily buried her face in her hands, Xion gasped, and Roxas felt his jaw drop.

"_That's_ your plan?!" Xion managed to choke out.

Roxas shook his head. "Peter, what happened to Hook being dangerous? If the other crew arrives too late, then–"

"Don't worry about it! Tink's pirate friends are super-focused treasure hunters, so they'll probably arrive early if anything. Besides, doesn't a ship-to-ship fight at sea sound great?"

Roxas bit his tongue. Okay, yeah, it kind of did. If they weren't going to get a full pirate adventure out of this, he at least would like a naval battle. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Sure I'm sure! We just need Tink to go and alert the pixie pirates. Once they catch a whiff of treasure, they'll be on Hook like that," Peter emphasized his point with a snap. "So what are ya waiting for Tink? Off you go!"

But Tinker Bell didn't budge.

"Tink?"

In fact, she turned _away_ from Peter. Arms crossed and eyes clothes and everything. Roxas didn't need to be able to understand her to know she hated this plan. He just wasn't clear on why.

"Tink, come on! What's the problem?" Tinker Bell jingled something aggressively at Peter, and his brow furrowed. "It's not like this stuff is irreplaceable you know. It's not even really a treasure to me, it's just been taking up space." Jingle jingle. "I know it's special to _you_, but it's the only way this plan will work!" Jingle. "Well I don't _want _to think of a different plan because this one sounds like a lot of fun!"

Exasperated, Tinker Bell leaned her head back and buried her face in her hands. Roxas let out a breath. "Tink?" She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what this treasure is, but I can promise you that what Xion and I need to use it for is super important. It's the reason we came to Neverland in the first place, and if something goes wrong, well, you can take it all out on me. Okay?"

Tink stared at him for a long while…before visibly groaning, even if no sound came out of her mouth. Her shoulders slumped, but then she straightened out and gave a salute to Roxas – and notably _not_ to Peter.

Peter grumbled at that, but nonetheless puffed his chest out and put his hand on his hips. "Alright, then we have a plan! You two will give Hook 'his' treasure, and Tink will alert the pixie pirate crew about it. In exchange for giving you the treasure, Hook will lead you to what you're after. And after finding it, before he can betray you, we ambush him with a rival pirate crew for an awesome battle at sea! It'll be a fight to remember!"

"Since I have the sack, here's Hook's map." Roxas pulled the parchment out of his pirate's coat and handed it to Xion before securing the sack to his belt.

Xion unfurled it and showed it to Peter. "Hook said he'll meet us at Mermaid Lagoon."

Peter cupped his chin as he examined the map. "Alright then. Tink, you heard her. Tell the crew that Mermaid Lagoon is where we'll start following Hook before we ambush him at the end of his trail!"

Tiger Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. "You and your games, Peter… I'll tell the Lost Boys about all of this." She slipped out the door behind the bear skin rug, back into the main room of the hideout. Before the rug fell back into place Tinker Bell darted out too, on her way to Pixie Hollow.

"And we can count on this crew to listen to what Tink has to say?" Xion asked.

"Of course! Tink is really respected back at Pixie Hollow. She's had her own share of adventures fixing their problems, you know."

"Cool. Then um… I do have one more question before we go, Peter." Xion awkwardly scratched her cheek. "I don't know how to word this exactly, but, um… Did you…really feed Hook's hand to a crocodile?"

"Sure did!"

Xion and Roxas both stared. He just blurted it out like that? Proudly, even?

Peter blinked. "Why the odd looks?"

"You don't…think that's kind of cruel?" Roxas asked.

Peter crossed his arms and tilted his head, a genuinely confused expression on his face. "Should I?"

What the heck was wrong with everyone in this world? "…Never mind. Xion, you ready to go?"

"Uh. Yeah. Okay Peter, see you later!"

**x-x-x**

The sun was beginning to set as Roxas and Xion made their way through the jungle and toward Mermaid Lagoon, the sack containing 'Hook's stolen treasure' tied firmly to Roxas's belt. The dense foliage never quite disappeared, but it did gradually fade away in favor of a rockier environment as the smell of the salty ocean breeze reached their noses. Soon enough Roxas and Xion stood on a cliff overlooking a natural harbor with various rock formations sticking out of the water. They didn't see any mermaids, but a glance at the map in Xion's hand confirmed it had to be Mermaid Lagoon.

Xion used her hands to shade her eyes while she scanned the horizon. "You see the _Jolly Roger_ anywhere?" Roxas asked.

Xion squinted and slowly turned, taking in the horizon from every angle, then stopped and stretched her neck a little further out. "Maybe? I see…something…" She gasped and spun on her heel. "Roxas, _look out!_"

That was all the warning Roxas got before Xion tackled him to the ground and then an explosion sent the two of them flying and crashing into the cliffside. Smoke filled their vision, heat scorched their skin. Roxas coughed violently, while Xion, lying at his side with one arm still over him from when she had tackled him, hissed under her breath and cast Cure on a burn that had scorched her leg.

"Roxas…" Though the smoke was clearing, Xion still coughed. "Are you okay?"

"I…think so." Roxas coughed and rubbed at his eyes with his forearm. His ears were ringing from the explosion and the smoke had filled his vision with tears, so even with the area clear his vision still hadn't quite cleared up yet. He looked as best he could out at the lagoon, and as he blinked away the tears he slowly caught sight of their attacker – not _in_ the lagoon, but _above_ it.

"Is...that ship _flying?!_"

As bizarre a sight as it was, that was what Roxas and Xion were looking at without a doubt. It was a full-sized galleon, but it wasn't the _Jolly Roger_. Though it was red like Captain Hook's ship, that was where the similarities ended; and even then, it was a much more vibrant shade of red than Hook's was. The sails were a blue that would have blended in with the midday sky, and the flag atop the ship's mast featured a stylized seagull, with one wing stretching up toward the sky. But most striking of all was the way the ship glowed. A golden aura seemed to surround it, and golden dust fell from it as it hovered above Mermaid Lagoon. The similarities to the dust that Tinker Bell had used to make Roxas fly before were undeniable.

Three cannons peeking out along the ship's hull aimed at Roxas and Xion, but this time they were ready for it. As cannon balls were launched their way for the second time, the two swiftly called on their Keyblades and cast Fire together. Three Keyblades, three Fire spells, the flames hit each cannon ball and they exploded in midair, well away from Roxas and Xion.

"Who are they?" Roxas asked.

Xion shook her head. "I have no idea."

As if it had somehow heard them, a girl's voice called out from the ship, amplified by some sort of magic. "Who are we?!"

The ship begin to turn in the air, so that instead of the hull facing Roxas and Xion it was the bow pointed toward them instead. From here they got a good look at the ship's figurehead, a wooden seagull carving that resembled the one on the flag. But their attention quickly moved above the figurehead, to the point where the ship's bow and deck met. Three spotlights lit up on the deck, stretching high into the twilight sky: one pink, one purple, and one yellow.

"We're only the best pirate crew in all of Neverland, of course!" In a flash, a little pixie appeared in the yellow spotlight and struck a pose.

"We heard you had some treasure, so cough it up." Another flash, and another pixie appeared in the purple spotlight with her arms crossed.

"Oh, sorry. We haven't introduced ourselves." One more flash, one more pixie. Between the two others, in the pink spotlight, the girl who had spoken earlier appeared and winked at them. The other two flew over to her side and they all posed together, as if they got a kick out of putting on a show.

"Neverland's premiere treasure-hunting pixies! The Gullwings have arrived!"

* * *

_The ending of this chapter is something I've been looking forward to for a __**long**__ time, and it was a ton of fun to write. The Gullwings being from Neverland is an idea I've wanted to do ever since my previous story, _Remember the Tides._ I'm glad I finally found a place to fit it in._

_How did you all enjoy Re Mind? KH3 was already in competition for my favorite game ever before, but the DLC put it firmly in that spot. But boy does the secret ending have me all sorts of confused. I feel like we're back in the pre-BBS days when no one understood KH2's secret ending – I love it!_


	23. Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

**Chapter 23:**** Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust**

Far out in the Never Seas, with no land visible for miles around, a thunderstorm raged over the open ocean. Waves crashed and rolled down below, while up above black clouds rumbled and lightning flashed. The rain fell so hard that it hurt. But at the center of it all, an otherworldly ship sat utterly still despite the tumultuous ocean. It was unaffected by the storm; in fact, it commanded it.

The crew moved across the deck, but it was no ordinary group of men – they had been ordinary once, but not anymore. An otherworldly ship called for an otherworldly crew, after all, and what could be more otherworldly than Nobodies? Dusks and Creepers moved this way and that across the deck, wordlessly ordered around by Ninjas as they adjusted sails and checking the navigation. At the helm of the ship, beside the Dancer which tightly gripped the wheel, was a figure in that telltale black coat.

It was a coat with bad memories that she wanted to be rid of, but with no Keyblade Armor or clothing made by those goody two-shoes fairies, there wasn't any other option to keep safe while using the corridors of darkness. She was slender beneath that coat, some would even go as far as to say dainty – though anyone who did would soon find themselves skewered by throwing knives. Elrena may have gotten her heart back, but that didn't mean her temper had disappeared.

Elrena's vivid teal eyes scanned the cloudy horizon as the Nobody crew continued their work. The pirate ship had been Lauriam's idea; since pirate crews were so numerous in this world, no one would notice she was an offworlder, they'd see just another pirate. Only there's nothing "just another pirate" about a ship manned by empty husks, and soon enough rumors had started about a ghost ship captained by a Pirate Queen. Never one to turn down being called a queen, she'd added the storms as some flair. And as a bonus, it kept people away while she looked for the Keyhole.

It's not that she needed to find the Keyhole per se, but rather that she needed to intercept the two brats who would also be searching for it. That was Lauriam's plan: seven worlds needed to be put to sleep. The Flood of Light wasn't the only way that could happen, but Xehanort had triggered one anyway by pushing light to the brink, and so now Lauriam was taking advantage of that. But Roxas and Xion had interfered too many times to be let go. Elrena wasn't about to seriously hurt them – she wasn't heartless, and least not anymore – but that didn't mean they could be allowed to continue what they were doing. So she'd come to Neverland to make sure this time the Flood would succeed, and Lauriam's plan could continue.

Elrena but down on the tip of her thumb as that thought crossed her mind. Lauriam's plan.

Frankly, she wasn't sure how this sleeping world stuff worked, or even how Lauriam had learned of it in the first place. It must have been when they were with the seekers of darkness, but like Marluxia had said back then, Xehanort hadn't cared about them, he'd only wanted vessels for his darkness. So he probably wouldn't have gone around blabbing about the Flood to Marluxia.

How Lauriam learned about it didn't concern her as much as the possible consequences, though. She didn't know what would happen when Lauriam went to the Final World, but she knew the price that Sora had payed to save his friends from there – all of Xehanort's vessels had known of that. She didn't want the same thing to happen to him. She couldn't understand why he was so dead-set on a plan that seemed so suicidal, especially when she couldn't even remember the reason Lauriam insisted it was so important. For all his talk, Lauriam himself didn't even seem to _really_ remember either. Their hearts had returned, but their memories were still a jumbled mess.

Despite her misgivings, Elrena couldn't help but let out a scoff. Worry was an almost alien concept to her. As Larxene all she had ever felt was spite, even if she told herself at the time that she was just imagining it. And she couldn't recall much of anything from before she lost her heart, so there wasn't a lot to go off of for emotions from back then. Now that she had feelings again, they were so new, so unfamiliar, especially worry. She hated it. And moreover, she hated that this plan made her feel it.

Oh well. None of it mattered anyway.

"Set sail for Neverland," Elrena commanded the Nobodies, her voice raising above the rumble of the storm. "Let's stop those kids before they reach the Keyhole."

If Lauriam wanted it, that was what mattered. She was really just along for the ride, after all.

**x-x-x**

Confetti rained down from the flying red ship as three spotlights raised up high into the orange sky. Roxas and Xion stood absolutely dumbfounded as they watched the tiny figures posing above the figurehead.

"Um, hello? Cat got your tongue?" The little yellow pixie broke formation from the other two and put her hands on her hips in a huff. "Oh wait, I get it! You're so starstruck that words have left you, right?!" Her voice was amplified by some sort of magic so Roxas and Xion could hear even as the ship hovered in the air.

"Uh…"

Three pixie pirates who had appeared out of nowhere… Were they the ones Peter had sent Tink to get? It certainly hadn't been what they'd expected!

The black-clad pixie let out a _hmph. _"If they're not gonna say something, then why waste time? Ready the cannons!" The ship rumbled beneath the Gullwings as it began to turn again, the starboard side slowly moving in position as cannons took aim at Roxas and Xion once more.

The brown-haired Gullwing, their apparent leader, gasped and grabbed her grumpy friend by the arm. "Paine, hold on, we can't just–"

"FIIIRRE!" The blonde cut her off with a shout.

Smoke and fire filled the air at Mermaid Lagoon as the first volley was launched. Her vision clouded and ears ringing, Xion felt Roxas grab her by the wrist and pull her aside before the earth beneath her erupted when a cannonball made contact. That had been close! "Thanks, Roxas."

Through the smoke she saw Roxas give a nod. "Keep on your feet, we can take a ship easy!"

Right, compared to some of the Heartless they'd fought this really wasn't a challenge – it was just a _really_ _weird_ sight. The blonde pixie continued to pump her fists in the air while shouting, the brunette was trying to calm her down, and the grey-haired one kept ordering round after round of cannon fire. If these were Tink's friends, then they were _really_ getting off on the wrong foot!

They ran along the perimeter of the lagoon, explosions at their heels as the cannons fired again and again. Then the Gullwings started mixing it up: a cannon shot at where Roxas and Xion would be, instead of where they'd been. Xion spun out of the way and Roxas dodged with a roll, but then another blast in between the two of them sent them flying away from each other.

Roxas grit his teeth as he climbed back up to his feet. "Xion, cover for me!"

"Okay!" Xion responded without a second thought. Cover for him while he did what, though? The cannons fired again, and this time Xion took aim with her Keyblade. Blue-white light sparkled at the tip of Sign of Innocence.

"Freeze!"

Three Blizzard spells shot out in rapid succession and met the cannonballs head-on. The spell stopped their trajectory and froze them solid, and the exact moment they were frozen, the instant before they fell into the lagoon, Roxas tossed Oathkeeper at one. It pierced into the ice and Roxas vanished in a flurry of light before reappearing beside the falling, frozen cannonball, gripping tightly onto Oathkeeper's hilt and suspended in the air. Before hitting the water he threw Oblivion from this position and it pierced into the ship's hull, making the pixies jump in surprise. Once more Roxas broke into particles of light and warped to his thrown Keyblade, then pulled it free of the ship and flipped up onto the deck.

"W-W-What are you doing here?!" the blonde shouted. She dashed behind the one they'd heard be called Paine earlier, who with a brief burst of light brandished a pixie-sized sword in her hand. She held it with both hands, but to Roxas it may as well have been a twig

"Stop hiding. Rikku, Yuna, we can take him!"

"Wait, why are we fighting?"

Yuna's question was drowned out by Riku's- er, Rikku's cheerful shout, as twin points of light flashed in her tiny hands and formed into twin red daggers. "The treasure's mine!"

Rikku charged forward – not at Roxas, but at the sack hanging from his belt. Roxas sidestepped, a simple motion but enough for the tiny pixie to miss her mark completely. Unfortunately with his focus on Rikku, Roxas completely missed as Paine darted at him and struck across his cheek with her sword. It was a weak, shallow cut, but enough for him to wince slightly. He swung back at her with his Keyblade but may as well have been a clumsy, lumbering giant since she had absolutely no trouble avoiding the swing.

"Stand still!" Roxas snapped. From down below Xion watched him recklessly swing his Keyblades this way and that trying to hit them, so that if she didn't know any better she'd think he had lost his mind.

"We're not after him, we're after the treasure!" As Rikku and Paine started swarming around him, slashing like stinging bees, Yuna continued to protest in the back. "Oh, for the love of… Fine!"

She thrust her hands forward and a burst of light magic accompanied by pixie dust slammed into Roxas's chest, making him stumble backward. It also stung way more than the tiny slashes has! Roxas hissed between clenched teeth as he held his hand over his chest. Okay, they may not be physically powerful but their magic sure packed a punch.

"Gotcha!" Rikku grabbed hold on the bag, but it was even larger than she was. Brandishing one of her daggers, she started sawing at the thin rope keeping it tied to him.

"Hey, get off!" Roxas starting kicking his leg out again and again as if he'd just stepped in something gross, filling the air with Rikku's screams as she held on for dear life. Another bolt of magic from Yuna threw off his balance and knocked him onto his rear, and then Paine swooped in and sliced the rest of the rope keeping the sack tethered to Roxas, dropping both it and Rikku onto the deck.

"Owie…" Rikku muttered as she rubbed the newly-formed bump on her head.

"Stop muttering and help me out!" Paine gripped the rope, but the sack was much too heavy for one pixie to carry alone. Rikku snapped to attention and flew over to Paine's side, but even with two of them they could only just slowly drag it along behind them.

"Hrrng…" Rikku let out a strained grunt before looking to the front of the ship. "Yunie, you help too!"

"O-Oh! Yes! I'm coming!"

Unfortunately for the Gullwings, by this time Roxas had climbed back up to his feet. And well, they were still only pixies. In two steps Roxas reached the sack before the flying Yuna could reach it, picked it up, and shook it until Rikku and Paine lost their grip.

"No fair!" Rikku shouted, slamming her fists repeatedly into Roxas's shoe.

Roxas watched the pixies in bewilderment. "What is _with_ you guys?"

Yuna put her hands on her hips and floated up to eye level with him. "We already introduced ourselves! We're Neverland's greatest crew of treasure-hunters, your friendly neighborhood Gullwings!" She held her hand out. "And we're here for the treasure Tinker Bell promised us."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Right…" So they were the ones Tink called after all. But why were they here so early? Peter's plan was for them to ambush Hook, not him and Xion. Then again, Peter had said they'd be eager… "What a mess," Roxas muttered.

"Are you gonna give us the treasure or not?" Paine snapped.

Before Roxas could answer (and of course it would have been a 'no', they needed this bait so they'd attack Hook), a ruckus came up from the lagoon below them. A pang of worry struck him, his immediate thought being something had happened to Xion, and he hurried over to the edge of the ship to look down. But Xion was just standing there watching him and the Gullwings. The commotion he'd heard had been about a dozen footfalls as another group arrived.

"Come back! Thieves! We got you, baddies– oh. You're still here?" Peter, Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys all halted on a dime and Peter scratched his head as he looked at Xion. "I thought you'd be on Hook's ship by now. Wasn't that the plan? And wait a sec, where's Roxas?"

Xion pointed up at the flying ship. "Uh, with them."

The crowd's gaze followed her finger, and Peter slapped his hand on his forehead while Tinker Bell let out a startled jingle. "The _Celsius_?! Yuna! Rikku, Paine! You weren't supposed to attack until after Hook led them to their goal!"

Yuna waved at him before cheerfully responding. "It's easier to get the treasure if there's less people we need to fight!"

"Oh, jeez… Eager beavers, huh?" Peter crossed his arms. "Sorry about this, Roxas!"

"Peter…" Roxas shook his head, tied the sack back to his belt, and then took a running leap off the side of the ship – the _Celsius_, as Peter had identified it. Xion visibly freaked out for a moment before casting Aero to slow his fall, and he landed beside her and Peter with a roll to soften the impact.

"So these are the crew you had Tinker Bell go get?"

"Right. I knew they'd be early, but I didn't think they'd be _this_ early. My bad for not telling Tink to give them an arrival time."

Xion shook her head and let out a breath. What a hectic introduction this had been. "It's fine. They clearly want the treasure pretty bad, so as long as we get it to Hook they're sure to follow."

"Hel-looo, we're still here you know!" Rikku shouted from above, her voiced still carried by that sound-amplifying magic.

"Aye, you're here alright! You're here right where I can get you, you interlopers!"

It was another voice carried artificially across a distance, but this one sounded like it was some old-timey megaphone instead of magic. It was coming from…out to sea! All eyes turned to the horizon as a familiar ship made its way toward Mermaid Lagoon. The _Jolly Roger_ was fast approaching to pick up Roxas and Xion with the treasure, as Hook had arranged when he dropped them off on the island.

"There's only room for one pirate crew in these seas!" Hook continued. "Fire at will, men!"

The cannons on the side of the _Jolly Roger_ took aim and exploded in bursts of smoke and heat, sending cannonballs flying toward the _Celsius. _"Evasive maneuvers!" Rikku shouted, and their flying ship hastily turned to fire on Hook, the earlier conflict over treasure forgotten for the time being.

As the battle commenced, a nasally voice called from below the cliff, in the water of Mermaid Lagoon. "Ahoy! Oh pirates, we need to– good heavens, Pan has caught you already?!" Roxas and Xion looked over the edge to see Smee in a skiff, hastily beckoning the two of them toward him. From his perspective it must have looked like Pan's crew had cornered them. "Hurry! Hurry! Get down here to safety!"

Xion gripped Roxas's hand. "That's our cue. Ready?"

Roxas double-checked to make sure the sack was secure, then nodded. "Let's go!"

Peter made a halfhearted attempt to swipe at them with his dagger, and Tiger Lily intentionally missed a shot with her arrow, though Xion was sure she secretly wanted it to hit its mark. Still it was convincing enough for Smee, who cried out in terror and already started to row back toward the _Jolly Roger_. Taking a running leap, Roxas and Xion jumped off the cliffside and landed on the boat just before it got out of range, making their way back to Hook just as Peter had planned.

The cannonballs sailing overhead and crashing into the water around them meant that it was a pretty hectic ride back to the ship. Good thing too, or else Smee would probably question why Peter wasn't pursuing the 'thieves' any further. Even as they left Mermaid Lagoon and reached open water, the battle between the _Celsius_ and _Jolly Roger_ didn't let up. Despite all the danger and despite them being just about to trick a dangerous pirate, Roxas had to admit there was a part of him that was really enjoying being in the middle of a naval battle.

Smee pulled the skiff up to the Jolly Roger and called for the crew, who dropped a rope ladder down for the three of them to climb up on deck. When they reached solid footing, they saw a ship that was just as chaotic as the sky above. Pirates were running this way and that, constantly moving between above and below deck as Hook gave orders over the sound of cannon fire.

"He might not be in the best of moods right now," Smee noted.

"Even so, we had a deal." Roxas untied the sack and bounced it in his hand. "Captain! We got you your treasure, as promised!" He held the faintly glowing sack up to Hook, but the captain didn't respond at first, opting instead to shout in the face of one of the crew.

"What do you mean we're out of ammo?! Then load up whatever else we have, darn you! I want those pixies pulverized!" He swiped his hook at the pirate's face, narrowly missing him as the pirate stumbled backwards with a nervous salute and then ran to the cannons with a box full of silverware.

"Um, Captain?"

"WHAT?! Ah!" In an instant Hook's anger disappeared; or perhaps more accurately, was covered up with a mask. "Roxas, Xion! My newest recruits, welcome back! And I see you retrieved my treasure! Well done, you two!"

Xion stepped up beside Roxas, dodging another crewman who ran past the group to stuff some shards of wood into a cannon. "We helped you, so now you'll take use to the Keyhole, right, Captain?"

"Aye, that was our deal, and I'll never go back on me word. But I do have my priorities, you see." Hook waved his good hand back toward the _Celsius_. "Those blasted usurpers were warned there is only one crew that sails the Never Seas, but they refused to heed my warning, and so I'm keeping a promise I made to them as well!"

Behind Hook's back, Xion bit her lip and exchanged a look with Roxas. This wasn't good at all. If something happened to the _Celsius_ before Hook took them to their prize, then Peter would have no way to follow them and get his treasure back. When Hook turned back to them and moved to take the bag, Roxas pulled it closer to his chest.

"We held up our end of the bargain, Hook."

"And I shall hold up mine – _after_ those pixies are taken care of!" He reached for the treasure again, but Roxas moved a few steps backward then when Smee tried to grab it Roxas held it up over his head.

"Roxas…" Xion began as a warning. This was dangerous water he was treading.

Hook snarled. "Now boy, I know you aren't trying to get your captain angry."

"I'm not. Just think of it as…insurance. I'm making sure you keep your word."

A low growl came from the back of Hook's throat…and then slowly faded out as a familiar sound slowly rose up around them. It was faint and quiet, muted under the cannon fire, but it was steadily growing in volume as its source down in the water came closer and closer to the ship.

_Tick-tock, tick-tock._

Hook's mustache moved in time to the sound of that familiar clock. Eyes wide and body stiff, he slowly turned to look over the edge of the ship where the crocodile was waiting, its tail wagging in sync with his mustache and the ticking. The crocodile licked its lips at the sight of him, which seemed to flip a switch in the captain.

"SMEEEEEEEEE!" Hook let out a high pitch and darted behind his first mate, his entire body shaking. "G-G-Get us out o-of here, Mr. S-Smee!"

"But Cap'n, what about the Gullwings?"

"FORGET THE FAIRIES!" He gabbed Smee by the collar and shook him vigorously. "That croc wants me other hand, Smee! Get us OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh, okay, um…" Smee cupped his hands and called out over the deck. "Stop the attack and get ready to set sail! We're retreating back to open water!" Immediately the crew dropped all the makeshift ammo they were running around with and turned toward the masts and anchor, making ready for the _Jolly Roger_ to shove off. Smee turned to Roxas and Xion. "Xion, could you take the wheel?"

Xion jumped. "Me?! I don't know how to drive a ship! I-Is driving even the right word for it?!"

Smee wrapped an arm around Hook's abdomen and held his hand. "Well I have to take the Cap'n back to his cabin to calm him down." He reached up and patted Hook on the cheek before directing him to the nearest door. "There, there, Cap'n. We're getting' away from that old croc, now."

"Mr. Smee!" Xion called after him as they passed through the doorway, but all he was concerned with at the moment was handling Captain Hook. The door shut behind the two pirates without them acknowledging Xion and Roxas any further. Xion puffed her cheeks out in a huff before crossing her arms. "What are we going to do now, Roxas? Hook can't lead us to the Keyhole like that!"

Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to calm down." He put a hand on her shoulder and motioned toward the ship's helm. "Come on, I'll help you at the wheel. The two of us together can figure it out."

Xion chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before relenting. A minute later, with its anchor raised and sails unfurled, the _Jolly Roger_ began making its way back into the open ocean, away from Neverland and the crocodile.

**x-x-x**

Rikku squinted as she peered into a spyglass and watched Captain Hook flee with his tail between his legs. How weird! Even if he was resorting to makeshift ammo, Shinra had sent word from below deck that their own supplies had also run out. If Hook had stuck around any longer he'd have sunk the _Celsius_ for sure.

Yuna pressed a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Well, thank our lucky stars for that."

"I don't know," Paine said with a grimace painting her voice. "Where are they off to now with our treasure?"

"Your treasure? You mean my treasure!"

The Gullwings turned as Peter Pan flew up from the cliffs below and set down on the deck of their ship, followed soon after by his crew of Lost Boys and a girl who looked to be from the Indian Village.

Rikku's hands balled into fists. "_Your_ treasure?! Tinker Bell said _we_ could have it!" Tink's response was a series of jingling from her position floating above Peter's shoulder, to which Rikku put her hands on her hips and gave a smug nod. "Yeah! Just like she said – you told us to come steal the treasure from Hook and make a big spectacular naval battle! She said they were your orders, Pan!"

Behind Peter, a Lost Boy dressed in bear pajamas scratched the top of his head before whispering to his fox-clad companion. "Uh, why can I understand these pixies but not Tink?"

"How am I supposed to know!" the fox whispered back.

Peter crossed his arms and met Rikku in the eyes. "I did tell Tink to deliver that message, but not that early! Our friends Roxas and Xion need to use the treasure as bait first so Hook will take them somewhere they need to be. They can't do that if you take it!"

Paine rolled her eyes. "Then you should have made that clear. We can't read your mind."

"Well that's not my fault you can't."

Yuna pinched the bridge of her nose. This kid was such a– well, such a kid. The boy who would never grow up indeed. She wondered how Tinker Bell put up with him. "Well then if that's settled, let's get following them before we lose their trail. We'll wait until he leads your friends to wherever it is they're going, but I'm still not about to lose out on treasure!"

Without waiting from comment from Peter, Paine turned to Rikku. "Go tell Brother and Buddy to set sail. We're tailing Hook – from a distance, without letting him know."

Rikku gave a salute. "Aye aye!"

"One second," the girl from the Indian Village said, cutting Rikku's dash below decks short. "We need to pursue Hook, yes. But first I want to know: given pirates' reputation in Neverland, what prompted you pixies to become ones yourselves?"

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all glanced at each other before breaking into a fit of giggles (well okay, Paine lightly chuckled). Once they had quieted back down, Yuna turned toward her. "The reputation is part of the fun! Though we prefer the term 'treasure hunters'. But if you must know, the Gullwings formed because we were inspired by another pirate fairy named Zarina who was around years ago."

"You should ask Tink about her if you want to know more," Rikku added. "But this was back before Tink was such a witch with a capital B!" Tinker Bell proceeded to kick Rikku in the leg, toppling her over before Tink crossed her arms and turned away in a huff.

Peter laughed. "Really? I can't imagine a time when Tink was nice. Oh!" He planted his fist in his palm as something occurred to him. "I thought I recognize the name! Tink, that's the pixie who you told me experimented with pixie dust, right?"

With Tinker Bell still fuming from Rikku's comment, Paine answered for her. "Right. Back in Pixie Hollow we have a special blue pixie dust that's used to create the gold dust you're familiar with. Zarina would experiment with it to make supercharged dust: super-flying dust, plant-growing dust, water-manipulating, and more."

"The others at Pixie Hollow didn't like that because pixie dust was too important to mess with, so she ran off and became a pirate," Yuna added. "That was a long time ago now. Tink eventually got her to come back, but her story inspired our little circle of friends to go off on an adventure too."

"Well makes sense to me! Does that answer your question, Tiger Lily?" Peter asked.

Tiger Lily tapped her fist against her cheek as she thought it over. "I suppose so. I do have one more question for you, though."

Paine grimaced. "Ugh, what now?"

"Why is it that we can understand you? Every other pixie I've ever met only speaks in jingles to humans."

The Gullwings all laughed again. "Oh, that one's easy!" Yuna said. "A while back we met a witch named Maleficent, and she cast a spell to let us speak to humans so we could help her out. But our job with her is long done." She turned to Rikku and pointed to the door below decks. "Now like I said, Rikku, go tell Brother and Buddy to set sail. Hook's ship must be pretty far out at sea by now."

"You got it, captain!" And with that Rikku darted off, not stopped by anyone this time.

A moment later the _Celsius_ suddenly lurched forward and then began to move through the air at surprising speed. Yuna and Paine lifted up into the sky and began scattering more pixie dust over the red ship, refreshing the dust that had been used to keep it aloft until now. The Lost Boys let out cries of joy and surprise, running to the edge of the ship and looking out at the water below them, waving goodbye to Neverland behind them.

Peter let out a crow's cry – and then stopped when he heard a ticking sound. Looking down at the water rather far below the ship at this point, he saw the crocodile looking up at him with its eyes bouncing in time with its clock. "Hey there! You want to go after Captain Hook with us?"

The crocodile splashed its paws and wagged its tail, and Peter laughed. "Come on then! Let's go show that old codfish a good time!"

**x-x-x**

The _Jolly Roger_ continued to travel across the Never Seas for quite a ways yet, not stopping until sunset gave way to night. Although storm clouds were gathering on the horizon the area the ship dropped anchor had nothing but calm waters and clear skies. Xion and Roxas rested against mast admiring the stars, with Mr. Smee beside them peering into a telescope.

"Lookie here," Smee said. He handed the telescope over to Xion then pointed toward the sky. "See those bright stars over there? Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning – that's where Hook'll be taking you."

"Is that why we had to wait until dark?" Even once they were sure to have been out of the crocodile's range, Hook still didn't take him up on their offer. Roxas hadn't been happy about that to say the least.

Xion peered into the telescope, indeed catching sight of two particularly bright points of light up there in the sky. The larger of the two, the one on the right, almost seemed to be surrounded by a rainbow. She handed the telescope to Roxas for him to get a look before turning to Smee. "But how's he plan to do that?"

Smee laughed. "Why, with the treasure you brought him of course!"

Roxas bounced the sack up and down in his palm, admiring the faint blue glow beneath it. "Right. If he ever actually does what he promised."

The door to Hook's cabin slammed open. "Enough complaining, boy! As Mr. Smee said, the second star has appeared. That means the time is nigh!" Captain Hook marched out onto the deck while adjusting his hat, carrying himself every bit like a proper captain and not at all like a coward who only an hour or so ago had been screaming at the top of his lungs at the sight of a crocodile.

Roxas and Xion climbed up to their feet, though didn't salute as Smee beside them did. "Are we finally moving then?" Xion asked. She couldn't deny that she was just as annoyed by all this delay as Roxas had been. And the more they waited the more she was worried the Gullwings and Peter would attack too early a second time.

Hook held out his hand toward Roxas. "Indeed. Now, if you please: return my treasure that the wicked Peter Pan stole from me."

'Stole', right. Roxas visibly fought not to roll his eyes, which Hook only didn't notice because he was riding high on his victory. But he did as Hook asked and handed the sack over to him – though when Hook pulled away, Roxas kept his hand on it. "We had a deal."

"That we did, boy. Now let go so that I may see our deal through."

Slowly, Roxas let go of the sack and stepped back. With his hook, the captain tore at the string keeping the sack tied shut; as it opened and he peered, a blue glow illuminated his face. Hook grinned and twirled his mustache with his hook. "My, my, what a sight for sore eyes."

"What's in there anyway?" Xion asked.

"Pixie dust!" Hook exclaimed, directing his grin from the treasure to the children. "Pixie dust enhanced with a special resource from Pixie Hollow, letting those who use it fly much faster than the normal variety allows. I've only seen its like once in my life, years ago, and I've been after it ever since." Then after a pause, he hastily added, "A-And once I found it, Peter Pan stole it from me, yes."

Right, totally. But as Xion outwardly nodded along with the captain, inside her head was filling with questions. This whole time all they were after was pixie dust? Even if it was some super blue dust, what did he even plan on doing with that?

"Mr. Smee! It is time for a demonstration." He handed the sack to his first mate, then retrieved a simple leaf from his pocket and dipped it inside. As he pulled it out it was coated in pixie dust, not just the gold that they had seen coming from Tinker Bell, but blue dust was mixed in there as well, its glow overpowering the golden sort. All Hook did was simply flick his wrist and let the leaf go, and it didn't fall...but neither did it simply float as the Gullwings' dust-coated ship had. No, instead the leaf swiftly shot off in the direction Hook had flicked it.

Rather uncharacteristically, Hook let out a victorious cackle and pumped a fist into the air. "I've done it! It may have taken decades, but I came out on top in the end, Zarina! Oh, entrusting your super dust to Tinker Bell was a foolish mistake. With this, no one will ever catch us. Mr. Smee!"

"Aye!" Smee saluted, nearly dropping the sack while doing so, then quickly fumbling to keep it from spilling out everywhere.

"Begin coating the ship with the pixie dust. Every inch! We'll soar through the skies faster than Pan can ever keep up!" Smee immediately scampered up the mast's ladder to do just that, and Hook turned to Roxas and Xion. "As I was saying, I never back out of a deal. Roxas, Xion, as promised, I shall lead you to the Keyhole."

Roxas and Xion could only nod quietly, still trying to process everything, and that seemed to be enough for Hook. The captain left them behind just as quickly as the leaf had flown off, marching up to the wheel and gripping it tightly. Up in the crow's nest Smee let the pixie dust loose, blue and gold sparkles raining down over the _Jolly Roger._

"Hoist up the sail! Set course for the sun!" Captain Hook spun the wheel and the ship began turning, but there was no resistance from the water below. How could there be, when the ship and sea made no contract with each other? Already the _Jolly Roger _had begun floating several feet above the waves. "When you've got wings, no wicked deed cannot be done."

Down at the foot of the mast, Roxas and Xion watched their shimmering surroundings with a mixture of awe and growing fear. They needed Hook to take them to the Keyhole, sure, but they had also just let loose a flying, super-fast pirate crew on the world. If Peter didn't arrive before Hook was done fulfilling their bargain, then a very dangerous man would be free to sail the skies uncontested – uncatchable.


	24. Queen of the Storm

**Chapter 24: Queen of the Storm**

The _Celsius_ soared over the Never Seas under the cover of night, the golden pixie dust coating the ship serving as their only source of light besides the stars and moon. Faint thunder cracked from somewhere far away; on the horizon a storm was beginning to gather, lightning and black clouds and all, but it was way off in the distance. For miles around the Gullwings, there was nothing but still, dark waters.

At the ship's bow, Yuna scanned the horizon with her spyglass. Everything just looked like a single shade of deep, almost-black blue, though. She could barely even tell where the water ended and the sky began. With so little light to go on out here in the middle of the ocean, finding one single ship out here would be a pain, to put it lightly. Sure the flat water meant they could see for miles, but that didn't help when it was pitch black.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Gah!"

Yuna jumped to the side, nearly dropping her spyglass as she did so. Peter Pan hovered beside her, hanging in the air upside down. He scratched his head then flipped right-side up before pulling his hat out of his pocket and putting it back on. "Well?"

"I'm not thinking about anything. I'm looking for Captain Hook's ship." Yuna almost put the spyglass back to her eye, but let out a breath and instead made it disappear in a puff of smoke. There was no use looking for him, it was too dark. "What are you doing, Peter?"

"I've been chatting with the crocodile."

"The…? Oh, right." Yuna peered over the edge of the ship, where the tick-tock croc continued to keep up with the _Celsius_. She had to admit, she was impressed with its tenacity. "He doesn't seem like much of a conversationalist, though."

"Nah, not especially. Real good listener though." Peter sat down on the ship's edge with one leg crossed over the other. "So did you see Hook at all?"

Yuna crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, no sign of him. But I wasn't expecting much else, it's too dark. I'll try again in a little bit, once we've

Peter shrugged and pulled out his pan flute. "He'll be obvious to find anyway, so you won't even need a spyglass. I bet his ship's glowing blue by now." With apparently nothing more to say, he started playing a tune.

Yuna tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?" But Peter was all caught up in his music now, not paying her any mind. Down below, the crocodile started splashing the water along with the flute. Yuna pinched the bridge of her nose and fluttered away. "Never mind."

"Yunieeeeee!"

All Yuna saw was a blur of yellow before Rikku slammed into her, sending both of them toppling onto the deck. Yuna grabbed the side of her pounding head while Rikku apologized profusely. Or at least that's what Yuna assumed she was doing; she couldn't actually hear, her ears were ringing from the impact.

"Rikku, please quiet down." Yuna rubbed her temple as the ringing subsided. After a moment she let out a breath and greeted her cousin with an ever-so-slightly strained smile. "Okay, what's up?"

"There's a weird blue light off the port bow! Brother said it just popped up – nothing one minute, there the next!"

"Blue light?" Yuna whipped her head around toward Peter, but he was still playing his flute blissfully unaware of their conversation. "How had he known that would…?" She shook her head. "Where did you say it was again, Rikku?"

"Portside!" Rikku grabbed Yuna's hand and led her over to the edge of the ship, then pointed out in the direction of the storm that was gathering on the horizon. Sure enough, between them and the black clouds was a pinpoint of bright blue, shining like a star in the middle of the water. Yuna's spyglass returned to her hand in a puff of smoke and she peered through it.

As soon as the image came into focus, Yuna dropped her spyglass in shock.

"Yunie?!" Rikku gasped as it fell into the water with a light splash. "What is it? What did you see?!"

"I… Hook, he…" Yuna clenched her fists, whirled around, and shot toward the bow like a bolt of lightning. In one fluid motion she slapped Peter's flute out of his hands and shoved her face into his, hands on her hips. "Peter Pan, WHY is Hook's ship glowing like that? WHAT was in that bag they gave him?"

Something told her she already knew the answer.

Peter waved her away like she was an annoying fly. "Pixie dust mixed with blue dust, why?"

"_WHAT_?!" Rikku's screech could have woken the dead. Everyone on deck turned their way, and a few people below deck even poked their heads out the door to see what was going on.

Yuna felt like the ground had just been pulled out from under her. She couldn't even keep flying anymore, she just collapsed onto the deck. "You let Hook have Zarina's dust?!"

"What's the big deal? It's just pixie dust, and Hook has used that before." Peter shrugged and moved his flute back to his lips. "Besides, now the naval battle will be more fun."

"You… I… he…" Rikku was sputtering in a mix of anger and disbelief. Yuna felt lightheaded. Supercharged pixie dust… Oh man. She'd seen it, the _Jolly Roger_ was already airborne. If it started moving the dust would propel Hook way faster than the dust that the _Celsius_ was using could. They'd never be able to catch up.

Yuna looked over to Tinker Bell near the back of the ship, who looked like she was dealing with a mix of shame and anger. No surprise. Tink knew what was in the bag and had been against it from the start. Boy if would have been nice if _they_ had known. Why did Peter think that wasn't something worth telling them?

Yuna slowly climbed back up to her feet and then lifted back into the air. "Okay, that's it. The deal's off."

Of all things, that got Peter's attention. He looked up from his flute with a raised eyebrow. "Huh?"

"We're not waiting for Hook to lead your friends to their goal."

"Hey, but I promised them!"

"I don't care! Your plan sucks!" Yuna snapped. "Hook took pixie property, and we're getting it back. This isn't even about treasure anymore. That belongs in Pixie Hollow. Rikku, go tell Brother and Buddy to go after the blue light at top speed. We can't let Hook get away – we're attacking now!"

**x-x-x**

There was no shaking or rumbling as the _Jolly Roger_ lifted up from the surface of the ocean. There was a faint sense of movement like a smooth elevator ride, but otherwise the only way to tell the ship was even moving was by looking at the water getting further and further from the ship. Specks of gold and blue drifted from the hull and settled on the water below, but no matter how much cascaded off there never seemed to be any less coating every inch of the ship. This supercharged pixie dust sure did work wonders. Too bad Roxas and Xion weren't exactly in a situation to appreciate it, though!

Xion watched as Hook spun the wheel, turning to Roxas with wide eyes. "What do we do?" she whispered. Peter and the others weren't here yet! If they didn't catch up in time, Hook would get away for good, he'd be too fast to ever be caught again!

Roxas swore under his breath and looked around the deck, eyeing all of the pirates as they went about their tasks to get the ship moving forward. Xion watched his hands flex as light danced at his fingertips. Was he going to pull out his Keyblade? She bit her lip and took in their surroundings as well. True, they could take these pirates pretty easily – but then what? Hook still had to lead them to the Keyhole so they could stop the Flood of Light. As far as they knew, no one else knew where that was. So it wouldn't do any good to take him out now.

"I'm all out of ideas," Roxas admitted at last. "Some mess we've gotten into."

"At least it's not as bad as Olympus?" Xion offered, though that didn't assuage the awful feeling in her gut. As she offered a nervous smile to Roxas, something caught her eye in the dark sky behind him. Something gold and shining…and growing closer. "Roxas, look. What is that?"

"Huh?" Roxas turned around to look out at the horizon just in time to hear a pirate call up from the crow's nest.

"Cap'n! Ship off th' starboard bow! I think it's those pixies!"

"What?!" Captain Hook roared from the wheel. He gestured for another pirate to take the wheel and marched over to the side of the ship while pulling out his own spyglass. After peering into it for a moment he let out a shout and tossed it into the water in anger. "BLAST IT ALL! It's the pixies indeed, and Peter Pan is with them! Men, double time! We can't let them catch up to us!"

But before anyone could react to that, another call from the crow's nest: "Brace for impact!"

No sooner had he called it out that the ship was rocked by cannonfire; magical cannonfire, to be precise. The _Celsius_ was now close enough that the pink, yellow, and purple glows of Yuna, Rikku, and Paine could be seen hovering above their ship's cannons, charging it with magic in place of more traditional ammo. And above the three of them was the familiar green of Peter Pan, who pounded his chest and crowed like a rooster.

"What are you idiots _waiting_ for?!" Hook screamed at the top of his lungs. "Man the cannons _now_ or it's the plank for all of you!"

Choruses of 'aye-aye!' rose up across the deck as a dozen or so pirates all hurried to be at the cannons. Hook shoved the pirate he'd put at the wheel aside and spun the wheel hard, turning the _Jolly Roger_ so the cannons would face their assailants. But all the while, Xion and Roxas looked around in confusion.

"Why are they attacking now?" Roxas hissed under his breath. "The plan was to get him after he led us to the Keyhole!"

"I guess Peter just likes to act on a whim too much to really be reliable," Xion offered. "So what's our plan, then?"

"Roxas! Xion! The two of you are part of the crew too, so get to work already! Fight off that wretched boy for me!"

Well, they heard Hook's order loud and clear, but… Xion looked at Roxas, and he nodded. Yeah, that was out of the question. The Gullwings had thrown things off the rails, and there was no getting back on track now. Light flashed in their hands and a familiar warmth passed through their hearts as they summoned their Keyblades to Hook's cries of approval – and then immediately turned on the nearest pirates and knocked them overboard.

"What–?! Mutiny! Men, get–" Hook was knocked off his feet when the _Jolly Roger_ took another hit from the _Celsius_, causing the entire ship to sway. He growled and pulled himself back up while glaring daggers at the Keyblade wielders who were now surrounded by angered pirates. "GET THEM!"

A dozen pirates jumped at Roxas and Xion at once, and a dozen pirates were knocked onto their backs when the two of them spun around with their Keyblades held out. A man who attempted to smash a barrel down on Roxas's head was kicked in the gut by Xion. Another who tried whacking Xion with a baseball bat was frozen in place by Roxas. They'd spent their entire lives fighting Heartless, some hostile but completely normal pirates were nothing. If anything, they had to be careful not to go overboard.

Roxas looked over to the starboard side of the deck, where a handful of crewmen were still scrambling to fire at the _Celsius_. "Get the ones on the cannons!"

"Aye-aye!" Xion replied.

"DON'T LET THEM REACH THE CANNONS!" Hook shrieked.

As the two began fighting their way through a wall of men, a bolt of green shot out of the sky right toward Hook. To his credit the captain showed why he was the captain and reacted immediately, pulling out his sword faster than one would expect and bringing it up just in time to block Peter's knife.

"Hey there, you old codfish! Isn't a naval battle a cool place for a fight? We set it all up just for some fun."

"Curse you, boy! I'll have your head for stopping my getaway!"

Peter laughed. "If you can catch me, you can have it!"

Hook knocked Peter back and then took a swing, but of course Peter swiftly avoided it. Another swipe, and Peter pulled his legs up to avoid it. Peter took off with his arms outstretched, flying in a wide arc around the ship while Hook began firing his gun after him. But not a single bullet hit, and eventually Peter settled atop the crow's nest with his hands on his hips. "Come on, can't you even aim?"

"Better than you'd think, you brat!"

Another gunshot, and once again Peter jumped aside. The pirate cowering in the crow's nest just barely avoided getting hit himself, the bullet embedding itself in the wood instead. Peter brandished his knife once again and soared down to meet Hook on the deck. "If you're that bad of a shot, then I'll fight you man to man." He held up an open palm, clenched it into a fist, then hid it behind his back. "One-handed even!"

Hook snarled and held his sword out once more. "You'll regret that, boy."

The sing of steel meeting steel rang out over the deck as Hook and Peter began their duel, and with it came the grunts of pirates. Roxas and Xion had knocked aside and knocked out a fair number of the crew, but there were still a handful manning the cannons and a handful more barring their way. But when Keyblades were pointed toward them, the pirates seemed a lot less threatening now than they had even just a few minutes ago.

"Stand down and we won't have to hurt you," Xion offered. She didn't loosen her grip on her Keyblade though, not when she was still outnumbered. Even if the pirates weren't as much of a threat as Heartless, a good hit in the wrong place could still take her or Roxas out of the fight.

"Ye're tough alright, an' that's a fact…" One of the pirates slowly got down onto his knees as he spoke, lowering his weapon – a plank of wood with a knife on one end – to the ground. "…but we still fear the Cap'n more!" In one swift motion he pulled out a gun, leaped forward, and pulled the trigger while aiming at Roxas.

_Bang!_

The pirate cried out in pain and gripped his hand as the gun went flying from his grip. The bullet flew askew, just barely avoiding Roxas, grazing at his hair. Singed blonde strands of hair fell down beside his head as he turned to Xion, who had swiftly swapped her Keyblade out for a gun – the gun she'd replicated back at Hook's island when they'd first arrived in this world.

"Just in time," she said in a shaky breath. Then she held up her free hand and cast Cure on the pirate. Her shot had hit his gun not his hand, but getting his gun knocked out of his grip like that still would have messed up his finger something fierce, and they weren't here to kill these guys, just get them out of the way.

But he didn't seem to appreciate the gesture. "Showin' mercy was a mistake there, lass," he said while leaning back down to pick up his weapon. "The Cap'n would do way worse to us if we let ye get away, and ye just showed that we don't have nothin' to fear from the two of ye but a few bruises."

"Let's get 'em, lads!" cried another.

They roared and began to charge. Roxas and Xion readied their Keyblades once more. But they needn't have bothered, for one of the _Celsius's_ magic barrages of cannonfire got through, slamming hard into the side of the _Jolly Roger_ once again. This one seemed harder than normal, enough to knock everyone onto their feet, the two Keyblade wielders included.

"Oop!" Peter reached out and grabbed Hook by the hook, keeping him from tumbling off into the sea as the ship shook. "I can't have you go being seafood on me yet, captain! Our battle at sea isn't over yet!"

"Seafood? What in the world are you–" Captain Hook frozen. As the ringing from the latest shot of the cannons faded away, a familiar ticking sound rose up. Hook slowly turned around, inching his head bit by bit toward the water in time with the ticks, fear growing in his eyes and the pit of his stomach. When the crocodile in the water far below the flying ship caught sight of him, it happily wagged its tail like a dog greeting its owner.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!" Hook screamed at the top of his lungs and ran past Peter, past Roxas, Xion, past the rest of his crew. He scrambled up the mast at over-the-top speed and shoved the pirate in the crow's nest aside before diving into its safety himself. "SMEEEE! Where are you, Smee?! T-T-That monster has come to eat me other hand!"

Smee's response was a nervous, muffled "Oh dear, oh dear, Cap'n, oh my…" that came from the door to Hook's private quarters, and nothing more.

With their captain crying for his mommy up above, the fight seemed to be knocked out of the crew. Roxas and Xion shared a look and then ran up to the wheel, though kept their Keyblades out just in case.

"Peter! Why'd you attack? Hook hasn't led us to our treasure yet!"

"It wasn't me, it was the Gullwings. They wanted the pixie dust once they found out what it was."

Roxas crossed his arms. "Yeah, well you could have told us that's what we were transporting. Hook plans on thieving the seven seas with this stuff, so if you hadn't come along when you did he'd have gotten away for sure–"

_brrrrBOOOOOOM_

Their surroundings darkened out of nowhere. Roxas, Xion, and Peter all looked up in unison to see that dark clouds were rolling in over the night sky, blocking out the moon and stars. Just as quickly as the clouds arrived it began to rain—to downpour. Had that storm that had been forming on the horizon caught up to them already? Low thunder echoed around them, and purple lightning sparked across the clouds. That…didn't look normal.

"Is lightning usually purple in Neverland?" Roxas asked as he watched the violet flashes.

"No." Peter gasped and spun around, looking out toward the open water. "Something's coming!"

As if waiting for Peter's words, a massive bolt of purple lightning shot down from the stormclouds and struck the surface of the ocean. Water was instantly vaporized, forming a dense mist that didn't help the rain they were already dealing with now. And within the mist in the direction Peter was looking, something began to manifest. As the mist slowly faded and returned to the ocean, a shape gradually became clearer through the rain.

Xion squinted as she held her hands above her head to try and block as much of the rain as she could. "Another ship?"

It was no normal ship either. For one thing it was flying, though unlike the _Celsius _and _Jolly Roger_ it wasn't coated in pixie dust. Instead it seemed to be kept aloft by the purple lightning that coursed along its hull, the same as the lightning that arced across the sky above them. But more pressing was its otherworldly crew. White husks left over from those who had departed this world. No, not ghosts – Nobodies! Dusks, Creepers, Dancers, and more staffed this ghastly ship. And in front of them all, standing at the helm of the ship, was a familiar sight that made Xion's blood run cold: the black coat of Organization XIII. It wasn't the man they'd encountered in Enchanted Dominion though; from her slight build, this had to be a woman instead. And though her face was hidden beneath her hood, both Roxas and Xion could tell she was looking directly at them.

A horrified voice from Hook's pirates confirmed their suspicions: "It's the Pirate Queen!"

Another crack of thunder was followed by a voice speaking up from the new ship. It was the Pirate Queen's no doubt, but like the hooded man from Enchanted Dominion she was using some sort of magic to hide her voice and keep her from being identified. "You brats better not have any ideas about stopping the light this time. I'm here to make sure you don't!"

"Damn!" Roxas swore so suddenly that it made Peter and Xion jump. "She's with that guy we met before. But we don't have time to waste fighting her!"

Xion bit her lip. "You're right." They'd spent so much time running around in this world that they were probably on the precipice of the Flood of Light consuming Neverland. "But how do we do that? Hook won't lead us to the Keyhole now."

Roxas slammed his fist into his forehead. "I have no idea…"

"Wait, the Keyhole? You guys could have said that earlier!"

…

_What?_

Eyes wide, Roxas and Xion slowly turned to Peter in unison. "You…know where the Keyhole is?!"

Peter laughed and jabbed his thumb to his chest. "Sure I do! If that was where you guys needed to go, I could have led you when we first met! …Well no, I suppose we would have needed a ship…"

"Well we have one now!" Xion shouted. She moved closer to Peter and grabbed his hand pleadingly. "So please, you have to take us to the Keyhole right away! Neverland is in danger otherwise!"

Peter looked taken aback for a moment, but then he nodded. "Okay. Come on!" Waving for Roxas and Xion to follow him, Peter flew off toward the _Celsius_. He let out a sharp whistle and Tink flew from the _Celsius _over to them, making a quick loop to scatter pixie dust over Roxas and Xion's heads before flying back to the Gullwings' ship.

Xion held up a hand to catch some dust in her palm. "So, what do we…?"

"Come on!' Roxas grabbed Xion's hand and pulled her along, already flying. Oh right, he'd already done this before back in the Organization.

"But Roxas, I don't know how to–"

"Just think of a wonderful thought!" Peter called from the opposite ship. "C'mon, hurry it up!"

A bolt of lightning struck the water right beside her and Xion yelped, but Roxas pulled her away from it. Pressed up tight against him, a warmth passed between the two…and then Xion felt as light as a feather. Her feet lifted off the ground of their own accord, and still hand in hand with Roxas, she gave a nod. "Okay, let's go!"

As they soared over to the other ship, Tink and the Gullwings were already hard at work putting a new layer of pixie dust over it. Rikku and Yuna flew between both it and the _Jolly Roger_, scooping up some of the supercharged blue dust and depositing it onto the Celsius. Peter spun the wheel hard, turning the ship nearly all the way around until it pointed to an especially bright pair of stars that shone through a break in the clouds. "Set sail! Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning!"

The _Celsius_, a blue and gold shining beacon in the dark storm, began to move forward and quickly gain in speed until it took off completely. Xion let out a cry of disbelief and delight as they could no longer be said to just be hovering above the waves. This was a ship flying through the sky if there ever was one! But they weren't about to get off that easy: the Pirate Queen's ship was moving after them, a crackling streak of purple that stood out among the black clouds.

But that wasn't even the last of it. Down below, just above the water, the _Jolly Roger_ emained all but forgotten in the chaos of the last few minutes. But that simply would not do.

Captain Hook peeked his head up above the rim of the crow's nest as he watched the other two ships fly off into the distance. "W-Where do they think they're going?" He stood up higher, looked around, and saw no sign of the crocodile. Finding more courage, he stood taller still and shouted. "Do they think they can just forget about me?! Oh Peter Pan, oh Roxas and Xion! You'll rue the day you tried to one-up Captain Hook!"

Smee poked his head out of the captain's cabin. "Cap'n?"

"All hands on deck! Make way for the second star!" Hook leapt off the crow's nest and slammed down onto the deck, landing perfectly on his feet. He adjusted his hat and kicked a cowering pirate in the side. As his crew all stumbled to their feet, Hook marched up the steps to the wheel. "I'll show them who the real pirate in these waters is!"

The _Jolly Roger _took off after the other two, its blue and gold dust trailing behind it. But what none aboard knew was that this whole time, from the moment the _Celsius_ had first caught up to them, the seemingly limitless dust that had cascaded off the ship had not only fallen into the water but also onto a creature _in _the water.

As Captain Hook vanished into the night sky, a happy crocodile flew after him.

**x-x-x**

Xion held a hand over her face as the rain pelted them. She couldn't be sure where they even were at the moment. Their entire surroundings above, below, and all around were just black clouds, save for that single break showing the night sky and twin shining stars. And it was to those stars that Peter kept the ship headed toward.

"Hey, you know that Pirate Queen lady is gaining on us!" Rikku called out from the ship's rear.

Yuna shook her head. "Doesn't matter, we have Zarina's dust!"

"I don't think she much cares," Paine said. And that was all the warning Paine gave before a bolt of lightning nearly cleaved their ship in two, only just narrowly missing when Peter lurched the ship left. From the

Tiger Lily turned from the door below decks, where she had hurried all of the Lost Boys off to for their own safety. "Why is she after you?"

Xion watched as another bolt almost struck them from the opposite side. Did they have a freaking railgun on that ship or something? "We don't know who she is, but she doesn't want us to get to the Keyhole. Some friend of hers has attacked us before."

"And this Keyhole is…?"

"Can we explain when we're _not_ under attack?!" Roxas shouted over roaring thunder.

With the next crack of thunder that followed, another voice accompanied it. Uproarious laughter rang out from somewhere in the clouds behind them, and heads turned as a ship broke through the darkness. Even with the rain between them there was no mistaking the _Jolly Roger_, and moreover, no mistaking that laugh.

Hook stomped his feet and pointed his hook at Peter. "Don't think you can escape from me, boy! I promised I'd take your head!"

Peter laughed as he glanced to his side while the _Jolly Roger_ pulled up beside the _Celsius_, keeping perfect pace unlike the Pirate Queen lagging behind them. "Well I'll be, you really do mean to catch me this time!"

"Aye, that I do…" Hook knelt down and scooped up some of the pixie dust at his feet, scattering it over his body. "When this voyage is over, only one of us will return to the harbor alive!"

Peter looked around at their surroundings, at the rain and storm, as a steadily wider and wider grin began to grow on his face. "I couldn't think of a better backdrop for a final battle! Gullwings, take the wheel!" With no further warning than that, Peter jumped into the air and charged at Captain Hook, who had also taken to the skies. Their blades clashed in the air between the two ships as lightning crackled around them.

"What is he doing?!" Roxas pointed his Keyblade and flames lit at its tip, ready to launch at Hook. But Tiger Lily grabbed his Keyblade and pushed it back down.

"Let him have this," she insisted.

"We don't have time for an honorable duel or whatever. We got to lose both the Pirate Queen and Hook, Tiger Lily! I don't know how much time we have left!"

"Enough time for me to get rid of you!" In a bolt of lightning and crack of thunder, the Pirate Queen's ship moved from behind them to in front of them, ready to intercept the _Celsius_. Rikku, Yuna, and Paine all cried out as they worked in unison to turn the wheel, turning the boat at the last second so that all it did was graze against the Pirate Queen's rather than crash headlong into it. The Pirate Queen raised her hand up at purple lightning flashed in the stormclouds above, then crashed down…and missed the _Celsius_ entirely?

The purple bolt of lightning, lightning inundated with the power of darkness, did strike something, but its target was not either of the ships soaring through this storm. Instead it struck hard on something between and behind the two ships. Something alive.

Xion whipped her head around at the glowing reptile that she hadn't even realized had been trailing them. "The crocodile?!"

Darkness and electricity surged over the crocodile's form after the lightning made contact. Its body enlarged and its scales darkened to the same shade as the clouds around them. Spines grew from its back while its claws and teeth elongated, all of them turning the same glowing purple as the lightning with electricity surging around them. Its eyes became a solid, ghastly yellow…and a familiar red-and-black emblem manifested on its snout.

From the helm of her ship, the Pirate Queen pointed forward. "Storm Leviathan, send them to the bottom of the Never Sea!"

The crocodile-turned-Heartless let out literal thunder as it roared, then charged forward, swimming through the air as easily as water.

Xion gripped her Keyblade tight. "Roxas, come on! The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can get to the Keyhole!"

"Damn it… Tiger Lily back us up!"

Pixie dust trailed behind Roxas and Xion as they took running leaps off the side of the _Celsius_. They soared through the air toward the crocodile – no, toward the Storm Leviathan – as the massive reptile attempted to take a bite out of the ship's hull. Roxas slammed his Keyblades into its lower jaw, forcefully snapping its mouth shut before it could do any damage. Before the Heartless could realize what was going on, Xion flew up into its face and blasted a point-blank Firaga at full power, sending a wave of flames over the Storm Leviathan.

"Yow! That's hot!" Up above them, Peter and Hook jumped back from Xion's flamethrower.

"Peter, it's dangerous! The crocodile turned into a–"

"A Heartless, I know! But I don't think Hook here–" Peter ducked as Hook nearly cut his head clean off. "–much cares for the interruption!"

"Quite right. You're done running from me, Peter Pan!" Hook lunged his sword forward, trying to impale Peter, only for the Storm Leviathan to let loose another roar of thunder and leap at the captain with its jaws wide open. Peter and Hook both dove out of the way with cries of fear, leaving the Storm Leviathan to bite down on empty space. When its teeth slammed together, a wave of lightning pulsed out on impact.

Almost as quickly as they had been interrupted Peter and Hook went back to fighting, leaving the Storm Leviathan to the Keyblade wielders. Xion fired another volley of Fire while Roxas unleashed a flurry of strikes, but its scaly hide just caused most attacks to bounce off. A flurry of arrows flew its way from Tiger Lily up on the ship, most bouncing off its scales…save for one, which struck it in one of the spines that had grown along its back. The Storm Leviathan roared and thrashed, swinging its claws in revenge, lightning trailing after its claws as they sliced through the sky.

"Did you see that?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, the spines are its weak point!"

Roxas flew straight up to avoid the Storm Leviathan swiping its massive tail at him, then just as quickly dived down with both Oathkeeper and Oblivion held in front of him. The Keyblades impacted the spine that Tiger Lily had shot before, and the Heartless roared once again. It rolled, knocking Roxas off, but Xion caught him.

"Tiger Lily!"

"Yes!" she let loose another rain of arrows that struck along its back. Electricity discharged from the Storm Leviathan, knocking all four flying fighters back and rocking both of the ships. Thunderbolts shot down from the sky, forcing Roxas, Xion, Peter, and Hook to recover quickly and dodge lightning while continuing the fight. Steel met steel as Hook chased Peter across the clouds, still more focused on his vendetta than anything else. It was on Roxas and Xion then.

Xion charged at the nearest spine, diving down when the Heartless's claws tried to cleave her in two, then swerving upwards to avoid its jaws clamping down on her. A pulse of lightning shot outward when the mouth shut tight and Xion pulled up a Reflega at the last moment. Lightning surged over her barrier before the spell shattered, sending its counter-pulse right at the Heartless and hitting multiple spines at once.

Before the Heartless could recover Roxas rammed one Keyblade into the first spine, shattering it like a lightbulb, then tossed his other Keyblade toward the second spine and teleported to it as soon as it made impact. He brought both Keyblades down and the second spine shattered. Lightning surged across the Heartless, forcing Roxas to jump back. He pointed both Keyblades forward and sent two spiraling bursts of gold and purple light down toward the third and final spine. When it exploded the Storm Leviathan writhed in pain before it began to fall out of the sky.

Peter looked up at the giant Heartless tumbling toward them. "Sorry Hook, but it looks like I'll have to take a rain check!"

"What?" Hook turned from Peter to the Storm leviathan, his eyes growing wide with terror. "What?! No! N-No, I don't– SMEEEEEEE!"

The Storm Leviathan crashed into Hook, and then both of them crashed into the _Jolly Roger_, knocking Hook's ship off course. Even as the Heartless faded away back into darkness, the damage to the ship had been done. It tumbled and fell through the air until it vanished beneath the clouds, Captain Hook screaming all the while.

One ship down, one to go.

Still flying through the air above the _Celsius_, Roxas, Xion, and Peter Pan all turned toward the Pirate Queen's ship. Up ahead the break in the clouds was growing brighter and brighter as they were approaching the second star.

"We're almost at the Keyhole. It's now or never!" Peter called.

Xion held out her hand. Black and white wisps of nothingness swirled around her arm and concentrated in her open palm. She clenched her fingers as she imagined the weapon taking shape and the nothingness took form, replicating her pirate pistol once more.

"You're not getting away!" The Pirate Queen screamed. Her ship once more burst to life with purple electricity and began charging forward, ready to ram headlong into their ship if that was what it took.

"Back me up!"

Roxas and Peter placed their hands on Xion's shoulders and flowed what magic they could into her. Sparks of light gathered at the barrel of the gun, growing brighter and brighter. Xion focused, forcing all the magic she had into the weapon. When she pulled the trigger, a massive blast of sky-blue light shot forward. Speeding like a bullet, it pierced right into the hull of the Pirate Queen's ship shattering the entire thing in one blow.

Debris fell through the clouds, both pieces of the ship and remnants of its Nobody crew. But the three of them didn't fail to notice a black and purple hole in the world that opened up in the middle of the sky. The Pirate Queen made her escape as she fell through a corridor of darkness which swiftly shut behind her. But that was something to worry about later. Peter, Roxas, and Xion all landed on the deck of their ship as the clouds parted and the light of the second star enveloped them.

When it faded, they were no longer over the open ocean. The _Celsius_ flew over a great city that seemed to stretch on forever beneath their feet, with a massive clock tower in the center that stood taller than any other building. But though the clocks claimed it was the middle of the night, the area in the tower's immediate vicinity was aglow like midday, all because of one very obvious source.

Tiger Lily shielded her eyes against the blinding light emitting from one of the clocks on the clock tower. "Is that the Keyhole you mentioned?"

"It is," Peter confirmed. "But what in the world is going on here?"

"This is what we were here to stop." Xion had to squeeze her eyes shut as she spoke. It hurt too much to look at it. "This has been happening to worlds all over the universe. Our Keyblades can put an end to this light and keep them safe. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, can you bring us closer?"

"Uh… N-No, actually," Yuna muttered from the wheel. "Something's just…stopping our ship. I-I don't know what. It's like my heart's rejecting that light."

What? Squinting her eyes just barely open, Xion shared a look with Roxas. The Flood of Light did keep non-Nobodies from approaching the Keyhole, that was true, but they were still so far away from the clock tower. This far, and they couldn't get any closer? That plus the absurd brightness of the light…

"Shit, we're out of time!"

Xion grunted as a pulse of light shot out from the Keyhole and rammed into the _Celsius_, powerful enough to practically flip their ship upside-down. Xion's stomach flipped and felt the ground vanish beneath her; before she even realized what was happening, she was thrown off the ship and tumbling through the air.

_Crap, crap, crap! Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts!_

Yeah right. What happy thoughts? The pixie dust wasn't going to work when things were going so wrong so quickly. Instead Xion twisted her body through the air and tossed her Keyblade beneath her. In a flash it formed into her Keyblade Glider and though she landed on it she very nearly lost her footing all over again when another pulse of light rocked the ship yet again. She heard everyone up above screaming up above, trying desperately not to fall off themselves. Belatedly, she only just registered Roxas on his own Glider beside her.

"We need to hurry!" Roxas shouted. He pushed the Glider as fast as it could go. But a black shape got in the way, something – no, someone – silhouetted against the blinding light. "Peter?!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Peter said, his arms held wide to symbolically block Roxas and Xion.

"The hell there is! Peter, the two of us can stop this!"

"Do you really think you can at this point? You said yourself we're out of time!" Peter winced as another burst of light shot out, this time tearing the ship in two. Xion shrieked as everyone – the crew, the Lost Boys, Tiger Lily – tumbled through the sky, but the Tinker Bell and the Gullwings moved into action. The four pixies conjured a magical net formed of pixie dust and caught everyone safely.

Peter looked back at Roxas and Xion with an uncharacteristically sad smile. "You said this is happening to many worlds, right? And you guys are the ones who can stop it?"

"Peter, stop!" Xion cried.

"Then in that case, you we can't let you get consumed by the light! Roxas, Xion… I'll see you again. I promise! Our world might be beyond saving, but go be heroes for everyone else!"

"PETER!" Roxas and Xion screamed together as Peter shoved the two of them away, sending both of their Gliders tumbling backwards. As both Keyblade wielders tried desperately to right themselves, their Keyblades almost instinctively, as if to protect them, opened up a gateway into the Lanes Between. The fell into the portal as light pulsed out of Neverland's Keyhole one last time, and everything went white.

**x-x-x**

Just outside Neverland's orbit in the Ocean Between, an entrance to the lanes tore open. No sooner had Roxas and Xion exited before they were hit in the back by a great wall of force and knocked off their Keyblade Gliders. Twin brief cries of terror rang out in the emptiness of the Ocean Between as the two of them clung tightly to their Gliders, their feet hanging over an infinite starry void as they watched what hit them – a wave of light – spread out in every direction from Neverland before slowly fading away.

Even with the wave gone, Neverland was still aglow – and growing brighter. The white light was breaking through the surface of the world, like a chick cracking open its egg from the inside. From afar Roxas and Xion looked on in horror as all across Neverland cracks formed and starlight poured out, the light of the very heart of the world. The light expanded, overflowed, until Neverland's features could no longer be made out – the world before them was just a blinding, blue-white star.

"No!" Pulling herself back up, Xion found her footing on her Keyblade Glider once again. And she didn't even wait a moment before flying at top speed toward that terrible sight. "Peter! Tinker Bell!"

Before she could reach Neverland, Roxas closed in on her Glider and grabbed her from behind. Nearly tackled her, in fact.

"Let go! Roxas, let go of me!"

"I'm sorry, but no!" Roxas's voice cracked as he held her tight. "What good would you getting caught up in that do?!"

He held her by the waist and pulled her back despite her protests, and just in time too. When Xion did finally break free of his grip, she couldn't go three feet before an explosion of light like a supernova enveloped the two of them, turning them blind for…she couldn't tell for how long. Ten seconds? Ten minutes? All Xion knew was that she and Roxas stood there, hovering in the void and unable to see anything but a blinding whiteness.

When the light finally did start dying down, Xion had to blink away the colors flashing in her eyes while her vision cleared. Tears blurred her vision, and she didn't know if her eyes were watering from the light or if she had been crying. Probably both. Her breathing stabilized along with her vision, until finally she was able to see Roxas beside her, the Ocean Between around her…and…and nothing in front of her.

Neverland was _gone_. The space the world had occupied before was now empty.

"No…" Xion's legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees on her Glider; a dangerous position to be sure, but the possibility of falling off didn't even register in her mind right now. Shock gave way to a terrible, deafening silence.

They…failed.

"Roxas…" Xion felt hot tears falling down her cheeks as she looked up at her best friend beside her. "What do we do now?"

Roxas didn't seem to hear her at first. He was staring forward with wide, shaking eyes, as if he was desperately trying to see where Neverland was hiding. After a moment her words finally seemed to get through to him, and he shook his head. "Let's…" He swallowed. "Let's find a place better than open air to talk. Come on."

After she nodded in affirmation, Roxas turned his Keyblade Glider around and slowly started flying toward a rock formation nearby. Xion climbed to her feet for the second time and followed close behind him. This rock in the middle of the Ocean Between was maybe the size of a football field, surrounded by a green aurora and beneath a massive, sparkling ice formation. Roxas landed and dismissed his Glider first, then reached a hand up to help Xion off of hers. When Xion's boots hit solid ground, she let out a shaking breath.

"Now what? With Neverland go–"

"It's not gone," Roxas snapped. Xion winced at his tone, but Roxas also seemed to realize how he had sounded and pressed his palm to his face while taking deep breaths. "Neverland is not gone," he repeated. "This isn't the Heartless. The world wasn't destroyed. It was…put to sleep, that's what Master Yen Sid said. So– So we can wake it back up somehow."

"Y-Yeah," Xion said with a gasp. "Yeah! You're right! We'll just need to ask Master Yen Sid or Riku how he and Sora woke up the Sleeping Worlds last time!" Xion found herself standing taller just from that. Roxas was right—Neverland _wasn't_ gone. The world was asleep, that was all. This was…it was a travesty. They still failed to protect it. But it was not irreversible. Not even close.

Roxas put his hands in his pockets and looked up at the starry sky. "But as for what to do next…" He trailed off, only for a surprising sound to catch the two of them off-guard: music. Music coming from Xion in particular.

Xion looked down at her clothes – which had turned from her pirate getup back to normal now that they'd left Neverland – and patted her body to try and find the source of the music. Ah! She pulled her Gummiphone out of her pocket; the music was her ringtone, and the phone icon was shaking on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Xion, Roxas!" Tron greeted the two of them with a happy smile. Not the first person Xion had expected to call her, but a welcome sight regardless. "I'm glad I finally got through, I've been trying to call for a while but there's been some sort of electrical interference."

"Yeah, we were in…a pretty bad thunderstorm," Roxas said with awkward, slightly-forced laughter. "What's up Tron?"

"I have good news and bad news. Good news first: Demyx is awake!"

"He is?" Xion exclaimed, her heart leaping. That _was_ good news! "Has he said what happened to him?"

"Not quite yet. He's still, um, I don't sleep so I don't quite understand it, but Ienzo said he's 'still waking up.' But if he's awake, shouldn't he have woken up by now?"

Roxas laughed. "Don't worry, we all know how hard mornings are for Demyx. I get what Ienzo means. But um, what's the bad news?"

Tron's shoulders slumped. "It's more trouble than bad news, exactly? It's probably something Ienzo, Terra, and I should explain in person. Come to the computer room as soon as you can." Then after thinking for a moment he added, "_After_ you check on Demyx. Friends come first!"

"Got it, Tron. We'll head on over to Radiant Garden then."

"I'm eager to see you in person. Until then!" Tron gave a wave before ending the call.

Rather than pocket her phone immediately, Xion cradled it in her hands and looked down at the black screen. "So, Radiant Garden before Master Yen Sid?"

A conflicted look crossed Roxas's face, but eventually he gave a nod. "Yeah. I think that's for the best. Demyx might know what those people in the Organization's coats are up to, and Tron and the others might have found something. Master Yen Sid isn't going anywhere, we can ask him about the Sleeping Worlds any time."

"…Okay." Xion slipped her phone back into her pocket, then summoned her Keyblade and pointed it forward. A beam of light flew from the tip of the blade and opened the Lanes Between in front of the two of them. "Then to Radiant Garden it is."

* * *

_And with that we come to the end of Neverland. Though the world may be in sleep now, it's not lost._

_As I'm pretty sure I said in some author's notes before, this is a world I've wanted to do since I was writing my old fic Remember the Tides, so I'm glad I finally got to it. If you couldn't tell from that ending, we're going to be moving into heavy plot territory next. Big things are happening in Radiant Garden!_

_That said though this has been a weird world. I haven't disliked it or had writer's block or anything, but it's still been tougher than normal to start each chapter._

_On another note, since the last update the reader Scistorm was kind enough to give Startide a page on TV Tropes. Thank you!_


	25. To the Garden

**Chapter 25: To the Garden**

Radiant Garden looked the same as when they'd left it, Roxas mused as he and Xion flew over the city. He couldn't have asked for anything more – it was nice to see some stability after the hectic events in the last few worlds; after all, even Destiny Islands had ended up having trouble. Townsfolk went about their business in the marketplace, children played in the water at the fountain court, and families took advantage of the great weather to have picnics in the western garden.

Last time they'd come here they had landed their Keyblade Gliders at the castle postern, but not this time. Roxas and Xion were headed for the upper levels of the Bastion and not Ansem's computer room, which meant going in through the front door. Xion followed Roxas's lead as they brought their Gliders down in an alleyway near the central square; not to keep it secret, but just so they wouldn't get in anyone's way. After dismounting and dismissing their rides, the two emerged from the alley into the hustle and bustle of the city of light.

The Bastion stood tall and proud against the cloudless blue sky, stretching up to a dizzying height. But the bright and sunny weather was a contrast to the moods of the two Keyblade wielders as they walked through the square. How could they match the joyful atmosphere after what had just happened in Neverland? But on the other hand, how could they be dreary and down after receiving the good news about Demyx? Things may not have been the worst they'd ever been, but nor were they the best.

_At least with Demyx awake, things are looking up,_ Roxas thought. Beside Roxas, Xion slipped her hand into his. He gave her a comforting squeeze and then motioned toward the castle gates. "Let's go get some answers."

They ascended the stairs to the front doors of the Bastion, guarded by figures familiar and unfamiliar. No matter that he had already seen them dressed this way before, the sight of Dilan and Aeleus in anything but the Organization's black coat was an alien one to Roxas. Aeleus noticed them first, but Dilan was the one to speak. Things had been awkward between Roxas and Aeleus ever since their first meeting. Roxas rubbed the back of his head; he couldn't feel that bruise anymore, but he could remember how much it smarted when Lexaeus smacked him.

Dilan greeted them with a nod. "Welcome back. You were told the news about Demyx, I take it?"

"Yeah." Roxas returned the gesture. "Were you expecting us?"

"We weren't told to, but I had a feeling you'd be showing up soon."

"Has Demyx said anything about what happened to him?" Xion asked the pair.

Aeleus gave a questioning look to Dilan, who shrugged. Aeleus shook his head. "Not yet. For now he's been resting; just because he's awake doesn't mean he's in perfect health. That may be something you should ask him yourself, since it concerns your mission."

The two large guards stepped to the side as the doors to the Bastion slowly swung open of their own volition. Dilan's spear vanished from his hand in a whirl of wind. "Allow me to show you to him."

Xion held up her hands in a disarming motion. "Oh, we don't want to have you leave your post!"

Dilan snorted a laugh. "Nonsense. Guard duty is just a formality, and Aeleus can handle it for the few minutes this would take." While Aeleus nodded at that, Dilan's eyebrows scrunched up as he looked between Roxas and Xion. "Besides, the two of you have only been in the Bastion's lower levels, haven't you? You don't know your way around the upper floors."

Roxas bashfully rubbed his neck. "Well, you've got us there."

A smirk crossed Dilan's face for only the briefest of moments, then he turned his large back to them and began walking inside. "Come on, then."

Not even a warning before he started to leave them behind! Maybe Xaldin and Dilan weren't so different after all. Roxas and Xion almost tripped over their feet as they hurried after him. "Oh, uh, coming!"

By the time the two teens caught up to Dilan and were able to slow down, they found themselves in a large, well-lit entrance hall. There were some construction and painting supplies scattered about along the walls, like they were still not done renovating the castle from the near-decade it had spent under Maleficent's control.

"I guess Ansem's priority was to finish the city first," Roxas whispered. Xion acknowledged him with a soft _"m-hmm"_, but Dilan didn't say anything.

The group went up a small flight of stairs near the central fountain, then through a door in the far back of the hall. The chamber on the other side was unlike anything Roxas had ever seen before.

"What is this?" Xion asked as she looked up…and up…and up. The chamber they were in was thin and vertical, stretching high up and far down, with different ledges and doors at various heights. Xion stretched her hand out over the open air, only to be stopped by an invisible field. The familiar sight of the interlocking hexagons of a magical barrier briefly flashed where her hand made contact.

"The lift stop." That was all the explanation Dilan gave as he tapped a crystal nearby. It changed colors from red to blue and Roxas and Xion heard mechanical whirring coming from down below. A floating platform riding along a thin beam of blue light rose up, briefly calling to mind the Crooked Ascension back in the Castle That Never Was. Perhaps Xemnas had designed it intentionally after the Bastion?

The hexagons flashed in front of them once again before vanishing into light, and this time when Xion waved her hand over the edge of the floor there was nothing stopping her.

Dilan was already moving onto the lift. "Come on, then."

Roxas and Xion hurried after him, and not a moment too soon. The lift was already starting to move even when Roxas still had one foot on solid ground. He hopped forward on one foot while Xion grabbed his arm to keep him from falling off. Once Roxas was safely inside, he looked up to Dilan.

"This will take us to Demyx's room?"

"Yes, along with near anywhere in the Bastion."

Their ride was silent, both in terms of a lack of conversation and a lack of noise made by the lift. It came to a stop only a few floors up, then Dilan led them down a well-lit carpeted hallway lined with wooden doors on both sides.

"Here we are." Dilan came to a sudden halt with on warning, catching Roxas and Xion both by surprise. The door he stopped at was completely indistinct from any of the others, and yet Dilan seemed certain that he was at the right one. "Demyx is awake, nut he's still recovering. Don't do anything to overwhelm him." He snorted. "Ha, overwhelm Demyx. There's a good one."

Roxas had to chuckle at that. "Sure. Um... Thanks for helping us find him, Dilan."

Dilan turned around, then glanced back over his shoulder. A genuine smile was there even if he was trying to hide it, so unfamiliar coming from the cold man he used to be. "Think nothing of it. Per Lord Ansem's orders, you and the rest of your friends are free to roam the Bastion as you please. Welcome to Radiant Garden." And with that, he made his way back the way he'd come.

Xion looked to Roxas and grabbed the doorknob. "Shall we?"

"Yeah."

The door creaked open to reveal a surprisingly comfortable room, a large bed against the far wall and right next to an open window which the sun was filtering through. Even without the black coat, no one could mistake the man in the bed as anyone but Demyx – that hair was way too distinctive. But he wasn't alone. As Demyx turned his head to look at the newcomers, so too did a familiar girl who was sitting in a chair at his bedside.

"Roxas? Xion!"

"Wha– Naminé?"

The pale blonde girl grinned as brightly as the sun when she caught sight of Roxas and Xion in the doorway. For their part, the two Keyblade wielders were left agape at the sight. When had Naminé arrived in Radiant Garden? For that matter, _how_ had she arrived in Radiant Garden? Roxas collected his scattered thoughts and was about to ask when Demyx grunted from the bed. He was trying to sit up, only to end up falling back down onto his back. Naminé gasped and hurriedly turned back to him while grabbing a wet towel from a bucket that sat by her feet.

"Oh no you don't, Demyx. No moving from this spot." She draped the towel over his forehead while he grumbled.

"Roooxaaas, your sister is killing meee!" Demyx whined.

"Well, good to see you're the same as ever," Roxas deadpanned. He and Xion made their way inside the small, comfortable room and shut the door behind him. With the shock worn off, Roxas took in the sight in front of him a second time. Naminé still had her hair tied into a ponytail with that blue ribbon same as the last time he'd seen her, though she'd swapped out the Destiny Islands school uniform in favor of her white sundress. It was hard to tell with Demyx under the sheets, but it seemed he was wearing a bathrobe.

"You doing okay, Demyx?" Xion asked.

Naminé answered before he could. "He has a fever. I've been taking care of him."

"Yeah, um, not that we aren't happy to see you Naminé, but why are you here?"

"Um, well…" Naminé scratched the side of her cheek and tapped her heels together. "Terra picked me up from the islands. I offered to help dig through whatever memories of Terra-Xehanort might linger in his heart, to help him, Ienzo, and Tron in their search. But they've been so preoccupied with the computer instead, so I've been making myself useful up here."

"Making yourself useful smothering me," Demyx groaned. "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired!"

"You were unconscious for days, Demyx! No one is just 'fine' from that!"

Days… So much had happened in a short time. Roxas wasn't really keeping track but it had to be only like two weeks at most, right? If even that long. "Hey, Demyx." Demyx looked up from his back and forth with Naminé. "Do you remember what happened? When you got…tossed into the Keyhole, I mean."

The mood in the room dampened quickly. Seeing Demyx suddenly turn somber was practically unheard of, but here he was, wearing a serious expression after that question. "…Yeah. I remember, alright. That's why you're here?"

"Right," Xion said. "I don't know how much you've been told, but Roxas and I have been going to different worlds to fight the Flood of Light that almost took Radiant Garden. So anything you can tell us about how you ended up there could help."

Demyx nodded once and then looked them in the eyes. "Alright. Listen up…"

**x-x-x**

_In the lower reaches of the Bastion, far, far underground, is a long-forgotten hall lined with cages…_

"_Snrkr…hrrmgm...huh? Oh crap! I wasn't sleeping!"_

_Sitting in a cheap lawn chair just outside the Chamber of Repose, Demyx snapped awake to the sound of a door opening. Aeleus was at the far end of the hall, stepping outside on his phone. Sheesh, the big guy was leaving his station while on guard duty? Demyx stifled a yawn. "What a–" _Yaaaawwwwn_… "What a bad guard."_

"_Oh well, it's not like anything happens around here anyway," Demyx mused as he leaned back in his seat, his arms behind his head. He had been staying at Radiant Garden since the second Keyblade War ended, and that meant earning his keep, which meant guard duty – which he was all too happy to comply with. Nothing bad had happened at Radiant Garden ever since, well, since last time he was here during that big fight between Organization XIII and Maleficent. _

"_Guarding somewhere that's this peaceful? Sign me up." Demyx yawned again as he started to drift back into sleep. As his heavy eyelids fell over his eyes, he blinked to try and stay awake, but fighting it didn't last. His vision and his mind began to fade once again…_

_Until he heard a familiar sound._

_The telltale _swoosh_ of a corridor of darkness snapped Demyx to his senses. As his eyes snapped open he found himself staring at a dreadfully familiar pair of black boots, followed by a dreadfully familiar black coat when he raised his gaze up at the newcomer. The most dreadfully familiar part of all though, was this intruder's face._

"_Hello there, Demyx."_

"_Marly?!"_

_Demyx fell to the ground, knocking his chair to the side as he flailed in surprise. Its loud clattering echoed across the hall, but it sounded distant to Demyx with all of his attention focused on the pink-haired man in front of him. "Marluxia, what are you doing here?! Or… Wait, are you Marluxia, or…?"_

_He had faded away, right? So he should have been recompleted. But then why was he still wearing that coat? He didn't have much more time to ponder before Marluxia grabbed Demyx by the forearm and forced him up onto his feet. "Ow! Hey, watch it!"_

"_I'm glad I caught you alone, Demyx."_

"_Huh?"_

_Demyx looked to Marluxia's free hand, where a translucent χ floating above his palm showed an image of the two of them in the hallway. Wait… Had Marluxia been spying on him with the Recusant's Sigil? Had he waited until Aeleus was gone before–_

"_Ow! I said watch it!" Demyx grunted as Marluxia slammed him into the door that led to the Chamber of Repose. He was being very abrasive, that was for sure. "What are you doing, Marluxia? We were Organization buddies together!"_

"_This has nothing to do with the Organization." Marluxia pressed Demyx against the door again, and this time it slid open. Having been pushed against the door only a moment before, Demyx now tumbled to the cold metal floor of the chamber while Marluxia stepped past him. "A door that only opens for Xehanort and his vessels…it's a good thing the old man chose you after all, Demyx."_

_Demyx rubbed his golden eyes. "Marly, seriously, what are you do…ing…" He trailed off as he looked up, his attention caught by a glow on the far wall of the chamber. It was faint, but there was no mistaking the starlight pouring out of Radiant Garden's Keyhole. "What…_is_ that?" Demyx asked._

"_My ark." Marluxia's voice was distant as he spoke, his eyes locked on the glimmering stars. "And your cell."_

"_Huh?"_

_Marluxia turned on Demyx, bright blue eyes reflecting the light that began to flood the room. "Only Nobodies can stop the Flood of Light, and I can't have you helping those children. You need to disappear."_

"_Disappear?!" Demyx jumped up to his feet. He didn't know what Marluxia was talking about, but he sure didn't like the sound of that. Water rose from the floor and swirled around his feet, spiraled up his torso, coalesced in his hand. The instant Demyx's sitar manifested in his grip, Marluxia's scythe was already swinging at him. Demyx barely had time to bring up his weapon to block the blow, but the force still knocked him back._

_As Demyx struggled against Marluxia's scythe, black vines made of shadowy magic burst out of the floor and wrapped themselves around his legs. Grunting, Demyx quickly strummed his sitar and summoned a trio of water figures, but before they had even finished forming they were slain by the scythes of two Reapers who appeared at Marluxia's side._

"_So even the Nobodies are on your side… What are you doing, Marluxia?"_

"_You should be thanking me, Demyx." Marluxia and the Reapers all swung as one, knocking Demyx's sitar out of his hands and slamming him against the wall. The shadow vines grew more, enveloping his arms as well and suspending him above the floor. "After all – in the process of getting you out of the way, the Flood of Light will also purge Xehanort's darkness from your heart."_

"_What are you–"_

_A dark corridor opened behind Marluxia. As he stepped into the shadows, the light from the Keyhole grew brighter and brighter until Demyx's vision and mind went blank._

**x-x-x**

"…and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in this bed."

The silence in the room after Demyx finished his story was deafening. No one knew what to even think, let alone what to say. It sounded insane, and yet, Roxas realized, it fit. That would explain why the hooded man they'd encountered was hiding his voice with magic: they would have recognized Marluxia's voice. But still…

"Are you sure you're remembering right?" Xion asked. "Because Marluxia should have been recompleted. So why would he attack you?"

Demyx shook his head, his shoulders slumping. "I don't know, but I swear it's what happened!"

Beside him, Naminé nodded. "I looked through his memories when he first told us. It was definitely Marluxia. Though…" Her fingers tightly gripped the fabric of her dress. "I can't imagine why."

"I can't figure out 'why' a lot of this." Roxas let out a groan as he tapped his knuckles against the side of his head. "Not just why attack Demyx, but why try to send worlds into sleep? And if the hooded man we've fought was Marluxia, then the Pirate Queen from Neverland must have been Larxene, right?"

"It would fit, the Pirate Queen did attack us with lightning," Xion agreed.

"I don't know about that, I never saw Larxene. And thank goodness! She'd probably have beaten me up even more than Marluxia did." Demyx shuddered and gripped the side of his head. "Oof…feeling woozy all of a sudden."

"You've probably been talking too much. Try to get some rest." Naminé put a hand on his arm and a soft lilac-white glow passed from her to Demyx. As the glow faded, Roxas thought he could hear the quiet 'baa' of a sheep. A Sleep spell. Demyx's eyelids drooped, and soon enough he was snoring away. Naminé slowly removed her hand and stood up.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Xion asked. She looked at Demyx with concern. Though he seemed fine, magical sleep was still…

"Don't worry, I made sure to use the weakest version of the spell, he'll only be out about an hour or so. But he needs it, he's been too antsy no matter how many times Even and I tell him to stay still."

"If you say so…" After giving Demyx one last look, Xion turned to Roxas. "What now? Should we go looking for Marluxia, do you think? Or maybe keep our eyes out for more former Organization members?" She paused and bit her lip. "If former is even the right word?"

"No, I think former is right. Marluxia isn't doing this for Organization XIII." Naminé and Xion gave him curious looks, and so Roxas continued. "Well he told us that himself in Enchanted Dominion. But even if we think maybe he was lying about that, Demyx said that Marluxia knew full well the Flood of Light would cleanse Demyx of Xehanort's darkness – he even said Demyx should thank him for it."

Xion crossed her arms in thought. "It's true that when we found Demyx his eyes had returned to their old color..."

"Right. So if this was something that Marluxia was doing for Xehanort, he wouldn't have gotten rid of the only piece of Xehanort left. But he did."

"But then why stop us from stopping the Flood of Light? Why send worlds to sleep, and hurt so many people?"

"I don't know. We just don't have enough information… Oh!" Roxas snapped his fingers. _Information_. There was another reason they had come to Radiant Garden, after all. "Maybe Tron and the others have learned something about the data Marluxia's Nobodies stole from Ansem's computer."

Xion gasped. "Right! I forgot, that could be our lead!"

Naminé cleared her throat and shyly raised her hand. "Well, if you need to speak to the others, I can lead you down to Ansem's study."

Despite the mood, Roxas couldn't help but grin. "That'd be great. Thanks, Naminé."

**x-x-x**

They hadn't gone back outside the Bastion to reach the computer room. Instead, once they reached the lift stop, Naminé led Roxas and Xion in a completely different direction from the front doors. The elevator went down further than the ground floor where they'd boarded with Dilan, until it eventually stopped outside a very familiar red hallway.

"I had no idea the basement halls were connected to this lift too," Xion said as they stepped off the platform. "Well, I guess it makes sense to not need to go out to the postern every time."

"Terra showed me the lift when I first got here," Naminé explained as she led them down the twisting corridors toward Ansem's study. "He showed me around a lot of the Bastion. He's been very helpful since I arrived."

Xion smiled and locked her arm together with Naminé's. "I'm glad to hear that you've had a friend while you've been here."

Eventually Roxas started recognizing the turns they were making, and Naminé didn't need to guide them anymore. The two girls started chatting about some store or another they'd seen in Radiant Garden's marketplace; Roxas wasn't paying attention, but it was nice to have noise to fill the dead air. Soon enough they came upon Ansem's study, and from there the cold and metallic Heartless Manufactory.

The first person they saw as they rounded the corner into the computer room was Ienzo. He didn't even notice their arrival, being completely focused on typing away at the computer instead. Concern was obvious on his face, and – though it might have been a trick of the light from the screen – Roxas even thought he could see uncharacteristic sweat coating his brow.

"Tron, how is it progressing?" Ienzo spoke to the console as he continued to furiously type.

Tron's voice came through speakers along the walls of the computer room. "I've put up a firewall around the Dataspace and surrounding area, but I doubt it can hold them back for long. Ienzo, if they reach the I/O Tower the entire system will be compromised."

Ienzo slammed his fist on the desk. "I'm well aware!" he snapped, surprising the three Nobodies. Roxas didn't know Ienzo well, but he'd still never seen him lose his composure like this. Ienzo ran a hand through his hair and then leaned forward, his face in his hands. "We may need to resort to more physical means of dealing with them."

"I agree, which is why I've already begun the startup program for the digitalization system. It's booting up as we speak."

"Good… Good. Thank you, Tron." Ienzo paused to take a breath, and only then did he notice the guests standing awkwardly in the doorway. He gave a halfhearted smile. "Roxas, Xion, I'm glad you made it. Please come in." He waved them over.

"Uh… I have to say, Ienzo, this isn't what I was expecting to see." Roxas looked at the multitude of error messages popping up across the computer's screen. "Is this related to what Demyx said about Marluxia?"

"Oh good, you've spoken to him. But no, this isn't about that. Marluxia does concern me, but I haven't had much time to worry about it with what's been going on here."

"What do you mean?"

Ienzo crossed his arms and motioned toward the computer. "The DTD has been corrupted by some sort of bug. We have no idea where it's coming from, but it's been spreading throughout the system the last few days no matter what we try." He rubbed his face again, and now Roxas could see dark bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well.

"Bugs?!" Xion hurried over to Ienzo's side and watched him closely as he went back to typing. "What happened, exactly?"

"Terra found a report Braig wrote some years ago which led us to a file in the DTD. We're pretty sure it's the file that the Nobodies stole a copy of, but all we were able to make out were the words 'power of waking' before the bugs started spreading through the system."

Naminé sharply inhaled through her teeth. "The power of waking? You're absolutely sure?"

"Mostly sure." The response came from Tron, his voice coming from all around them as he spoke through the speakers. "I don't know what Marluxia could want Xehanort's research on that power for. We'd need to see the full file to know – those are the only words we have. The bugs started spreading before anything else could be analyzed."

Xion chewed on her lip while her eyes moved a mile a minute reading all the error messages on the screen. "Do you think the Nobodies left a virus behind in the file after they made their copy?"

"Terra thought so too, but no." They couldn't see Tron's face, but from his tone they could practically hear him shaking his head. "The file wasn't the source of the bugs, it was a victim. This broken data is coming from somewhere else. And unless we can find and isolate the source then we're not going to be able to stop the spread before the entire system is corrupted."

"That sounds bad," was all Roxas was able to manage. He knew it sounded stupid to say, but he didn't get computers so didn't have any idea what he could do to help. He watched how Xion observed Ienzo closely, but even if she had a better handle on computers than he did she also wasn't even close to being an expert.

Hurried footsteps came from behind them as someone else entered the lab. "Oh good, there you guys are!"

Beside Roxas, Naminé turned around with a wide smile. "Terra!"

Roxas looked up as Terra came in, breathing heavily as if he had ran all the way here. He held out his hand and Naminé did a small bounce to give him a high-five. "Thanks for helping them out, Naminé. Hey there Roxas, Xion. I take it Ienzo has caught you up?"

"Yeah. It's pretty frightening." Xion only now turned from watching Ienzo at the computer. "Who knows what would happen if the system was taken down? At bare minimum the city's defenses would go offline, so if any Heartless attacked…"

Ienzo gave a sound of agreement. "Right. That's why I was hoping you Keyblade wielders could help us out."

"Um…" Roxas glanced at Terra, who looked back at him with a shrug. "Xion may be able to help you Ienzo, but I'm useless with computers."

"I'm not much better," Terra agreed. "I thought that was why I was looking through the physical reports while you and Tron handled the electronic stuff."

Despite the situation, Ienzo wore a slight smile. "Don't worry about that. You won't have to do anything you don't know how to. What we need right now is your combat experience."

Terra rested one hand on his hip while he scratched my head. "Not sure I get it."

Ienzo looked back to the screen. "Tron, is it ready?"

"Perfect timing, it just finished starting up! Running the program now!"

The lights flickered, and Roxas heard a hum that was somehow simultaneously quiet yet imposing. The whirring of machinery grew louder, until the large machine against the back wall of the computer room sprung to life. Its lights flickered on, especially the large red circular one in the center. Naminé took a nervous step back from it, moving between Roxas and Terra.

Tron spoke over the humming machine. "All systems are at maximum efficiency. Ienzo, input the commands whenever you're ready."

"Alright…" Ienzo looked from his computer to Xion, then from Xion to Roxas and Terra, and lastly at the device against the wall. What in the world was he planning? "Are the three of you ready to be our antivirus?"


End file.
